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Collection  of  American  ILiteratur^ 

Ikqucatfjeb  to 

Cfje  ilibrarp  of  ttje  Hnibersitp  of 
i^ortf)  Carolina 


"He  gave  back  as  rain  that  which  he 
^>^    receiveei  as  mist" 


D97/.  !/-S7,9 


00032761146 

FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


w^  r  I .    \ 


STATEMENT 


IN  November  of  last  year  The  Asheville  Citizen  moved  into  its  new 
and  permanent  home  at  No.  25  Haywood  Street. 
In  celebration  of  that  event  The  Citizen  published  a  special 
edition,  in  which  appeared  two  most  interesting  and  highly  instructive 
articles  on  the  history  of  Western  North  Carolina  and  of  Buncombe 
County,  one  prepared  by  Dr.  F.  A.  Sondley,  and  the  other  by  General 
Theodore  F.  Davidson, 

These  two  articles  attracted  widespread  attention  as  they  both 
narrated  incidents  and  facts,  many  of  which  had  never  before  been 
printed,  and  many  of  The  Citizen's  readers  urged  tliat  these  two  articles 
be  reprinted  in  pamphlet  form,  so  as  to  be  more  easily  read  and  pre- 
served for  the  future. 

At  our  request  Dr.  Sondley  and  General  Davidson  have  both 
revised  those  two  articles  and  have  brought  them  up  to  date,  and,  in 
response  to  this  request.  The  Citizen  has  had  them  printed  and  bound 
in  this  little  volume. 

The  Citizen  believes  that  the  public  will  be  deeply  interested  in 
the  facts  set  forth  in  this  little  volume,  and  is  glad  to  have  the  oppor- 
tunity^ of  performing  what  it  believes  is  a  great  public  service  in  hand- 
ing them  down  for  future  generations. 

The  expense  of  securing  the  illustrations  and  the  printing  of  this 
volume  is  considerably  more  than  the .  management  anticipated,  and, 
in  order  to  help  defray  the  cost  of  the  sam.e,  we  are  making  a  nominal 
charge  for  each  book  to  help  defray  this  expense. 

The  Citizen  is  under  deep  obligations  to  Dr.  Sondley  and  General 
Davidson  for  their  arduous  labors  in  compiling  the  facts  set  forth 
herein.  They  have  striven  earnestly  and  faithfully  to  get  together,  in 
an  interesting  and  succinct  manner,  without  remuneration,  the  facts 
compiled,  and  are  entitled  to  the  thanks  and  appreciation  of  a  grateful 
public. 

The  Citizen  Company. 
February  27,  1922. 


ASHEVILLE  AND 
BUNCOMBE  COUNTY 


By 
F.  A.  SONDLEY,  LL.D. 


GENESIS  OF 
BUNCOMBE  COUNTY 

By 
Hon.  Theodore  F.  Davidson 


ASHEVILLE 

THE  CITIZEN  COMPANY 
1922 


ASHEVILLE  AND  BUNCOMBE  COUNTY 

Copyright.  1922,  by 

F.  A.  Sondley,  LL.D. 


THE  INLAND  PRESS 
ASHEVILLE.  N.  C. 


DEDICATION 


This  little  work  is  dedicated  to 
Honorable  Theodore  F.  Davidson 

who  has  ever  exerted  himself  for  the  preservation  of 

Bunco77ibe's   history,   and  in  so   doing  has 

made  that  county  his  lasting  debtor. 

— Author. 


K 


PREFACE 


'T^HIS  is  intended  to  be  a  sketch  of  the 
A  history  of  Asheville  and  Buncombe 
County.  It  is  difficult  to  tell  in  writing  a  local 
history  where  to  stop.  There  is  always  more 
to  be  said.  All  facts  are  material;  but  all 
facts  are  not  equally  interesting  and  all 
facts  are  not  equally  well  known.  Public 
records  have  been  followed  where  available. 
When  they  have  failed,  recourse  has  been  had 
to  tradition;  but  no  tradition  has  been  fol- 
lowed unless,  after  careful  scrutiny,  it  seems 
to  be  true  and  even  thqn  is  well  attested.  Too 
great  generality  renders  whatever  is  written 
worthless.  On  the  other  hand,  too  much 
detail  is  tedious.  All  history  is  incomplete. 
This  sketch  makes  no  claim  to  even  approxi- 
mate completeness.  Its  aim  is  to  give  the  most 
important  events  in  the  story  of  Asheville  and 
adjoining  regions  with  enough  explanation 
and  illustration  to  enable  a  reader  to  under- 
stand, in  some  measure  at  least,  the  people 
who  have  made  that  story  a  reality. 

F.  A.  SONDLEY. 

Finis  Viae, 

December  31,  1921. 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  I 

Early  Discoveries  of  America — Norwegians  and  Vinland — Irish  and  Land  of  the 
White  ]Men  or  Great  Ireland  or  Huitramannaland — Ari  ]Marsson — North  Caro- 
lina's first  Lost  Colony— North  Carolina  second  Lost  Colony— Welsh  and 
Madoc — Tuscaroras — Morgan  Jones — North  Carolina's  third  Lost  Colony — 
Columbus— Hernando  De  Soto— Hickorynut  Gap— Pedro  Menendez  de  Aviles 
—Saint  Helena  and  San  Felipe— Juan  Pardo— Xualla  or  Juada  or  Joara  or 
Sara  or  Suala— Otapales  and  Olagatanos— Yupaha,  Aixacan,  Chiquola,  Chisca, 
Apalatci,  Onagatano— La  Grand  Copal,  Florida— New  France,  Louisiane, 
Apalche,  Apalache— Virginia,  Western  North  Carolina— Huguenots— Rene  G. 
Landonniere— French  in  Florida— "jMountaines  of  Apalatcy"— Silver  and  Gold 
and  "Redde  Copper" — Francis  Yardly — Spaniards — Haynokes  or  Enos — John 
Lederer— Sir  William  Berkley — Ancient  IMining  in  Western  North  Carolina- 
Lincoln  County— Cherokee  County— Reed  :Mine— North  Carolina  Gold— John 
and  Sebastian  Cabot— Sir  Walter  Raleigh— Virginia— Amidas  anr  Barlow- 
Ralph  Lane— Raleigh's  Lost  Colony— Old  North  State— Indian  Corn,  Sassa- 
fras, Irish  Potatoes,  Tobacco — First  English  Settlement  in  America,  first  Eng- 
lish Gold  :Mine  in  America,  Virginia  Dare,  first  Battle  for  Independence  at 
Alamance — Stamp  Act  in  North  Carolina — Tryon — John  Ashe — W'addell — 
Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence — Halifax  Provincial  Congress — 
Secession  in  North  Carolina— Henry  Wyatt— Battle  of  Big  Bethel— William 
Henry  Foote's  tribute  to  Scotch-Irish  of  North  Carolina— George  Bancroft's 
tribute  to  North  Carolina— Battle  of  Kings  Mountain— White  Occupation 
to  Revolution— Cherokees— Indian  Relics— Site  of  Asheville  old  Battle- 
ground  P^g^  25 

Chapter  II 

French  Broad  River— Indian  Names  for  French  Broad- Tocheste,  Pse-lico, 
Agiqua,  Tocheesstee,  Zillicoah,  Un-takiyastiyi— "French"— Origin  of  Name 
of  French  Broad— Swannanoa  River— Origin  of  Name  of  Swannanoa— Shaw- 
anoes  —  Savannah,  Swanee,  Suanee  —  Cumberland  River  —  "Chouanou''  — 
Sewanee— Shawanoes  on  Swannanoa— Davidson's  River— Mills  River— Little 
River— Muddy  Creek— Clear  Creek— Cane  Creek— Catawba  Grape— William 
Camp— Hominy  Creek— Newfound  Creek— Turkey  Creek— Sandymush  Creek 
—Cripple  Creek,  Big  Branch,  Town  Branch,  Gash's  Creek— Nathan  Smith's 
Creek  Glenn's  Creek— Asheville  Gold— Beaverdam  Creek— John  Davis  s 
Branch— Reems  Creek— Flat  Creek— Ivy  River— Laurel  River— Spring  Creek 
—Warm  Springs,  Hot  Springs,  Discovery— Ross's  Creek,  Chunn's  Cove- 
Haw  Creek,  Whitson's  Creek,  "T.  T.  Patton's  ^liU  Creek"— Grassy  Branch- 
Bull  Creek— Bee  Tree  Creek— South  Fork  of  Swannanoa  River,  Flat  Creek— 
Asheville  Plateau— Blue  Ridge— Appalachian  or  Alleghany  Mountains- 
Origins  of  Names  Appalachian  and  Alleghany— Pisgah— Busby— Bearwajiow 
—Bald  Top— Sugar  Loaf— Pilot— Point  Lookout— Craggy— iBlack  Mountain- 
Lane's  Pinnacle-Mine  Hole  Gap-Forges  on  Hominy  Creek  and  Reems 
Creek-Beaucatcher- Judge  Avery-Elks,  last  killed  in  North  Carolina-Elk 
Mountain— Last  Panthers  in  North  Carolina— Deer— Bears— Lynxes— Gooctis 
Peak-Tryon's  Line-Tryon  ^lountain-City  of  Tryon-French  Broad, 
Pse-li-co,  Tocheste,  Agiqua,  Tocheeosstee,  Zillicoah,  Untakiyastiki,  Zeehleeka, 
Esseewah— Pisgah,  Warwasseeta,  Elseetoss— Balk  Mountain,  Sokassa— bugar- 


1 2  Contents 

loaf  Mountain.  Salola — Broad  River,  Esseedaw,  Craggy  Mountain,  Sunnalee — 
Black  Mountain,  Seencyahs — Cold  Mountain,  Osteenoah — Balsam  Mountains, 
Judykullas  —  Smoky  Mountains,  Chesseetoahs  —  Newfound  ^Mountains. 
Chewassee — Cisco page  37 

Chapter  III 

Lake — Mountain  Island — Former  course  of  French  Broad  River — Ushery — 
Lederer — De  Soto — De  Soto  in  North  Carolina — Cofachiqui — Xuala  or 
Chouala — Suali,  Suara,  Suala,  Cheraw,  Sara — Guatule  or  Gauchule — Dis- 
coverj-  of  the  ^Mississippi  River — Rickohocans page  47 

Chapter  IV 

John  Lederer — Sara  or  Suala — James  Needham  and  Gabriel  Arthur — Abraham 
Wood — Tomahitan  Indians,  Cherokees — Sitteree — Death  of  Needham — First 
Visit  of  English  to  Cherokees — John  Stuart  and  Alexander  Cameron — Georgia 
Expedition  against  Cherokees — Colonel  William  Christian  Expediton  against 
Cherokees — General  Griffith  Rutherford  Expedition  against  Cherokees — 
Rutherford's  Route — Swannanoa  Gap — War  Ford  of  French  Broad — Hominy 
Creek — Pigeon  River — Richland  Creek — Tuckaseigee  River — Cowee  ]Moun- 
tain — Skirmish  with  Indians — Tennessee  River — Fight  with  Indians — Valley 
Towns — Middle  Towns — Indian  towns  of  Watauga,  Estotoa  and  Ellojay 
Destroyed — U'illiamson's  Expedition  against  Cherokees — Colonel  William- 
son's Route — Catawbas — Colonel  Williamson's  fight  with  Indians — William- 
son joins  Rutherford — Result  of  Rutherford  Expedition — Rutherford's  Return 
— "Rutherford's  Trace" — James  Hall — Captain  Charles  Polk's  Diar>' — 
Nuckessey  Town — Nowee — Hall's  Sermon — Rutherford's  Life — General 
William  Davidson — Captains  WilHam  Moore  and  Harden's  Expedition 
against  the  Cherokees — ^loore's  Route — Moore  and  Harden  destroy  Indian 
town  on  Tuckaseigee — Tracking,  killing  and  scalping  Indians — Captures — 
Earthquake — '"Vandue"  of  prisoners  and  plunder — Moore's  Report — Balsam 
Mountains — Indian  poisoned  at  Sulphur  Spring  on  Hominy  Creek — Colonel 
John  Sevier's  Expedition  against  Cherokees  in  1781,  up  Cane  Creek  and 
across  Ivy  and  Swannanoa  to  Tuckasejah  and  headwaters  of  Little  Tennessee 
— Expedition  of  Tennesseeans  against  Cherokees  to  Coosa watee  in  1789 — 
Indians  at  Warm  Springs  in  1793 — Blockhouses  on  French  Broad  at  Hough's, 
Burnt  Canebrake,  Painted  Rock  and  Warm  Springs — Buncombe  Scout  to  Big 
Laurel — Sevier's  Expedition  against  Cherokees  up  French  Broad  River  and 
up  Newfound  Creek  and  back  down  Hominy — Settlers  before  Revolution  on 
Catawba  River — Swannanoa  valley — Samuel  Davidson  settles  on  Christian 
Creek  and  is  killed  by  Cherokees— Escape  of  wife  and  child— Expedition  from 
Old  Fort  to  avenge  his  death— Fight  with  Cherokees  from  Cheesborough  Place 
on  Swannanoa  River  to  mouth  of  that  river  in  Canebrake — White  camp — 
Hunters  on  North  Fork  of  Swannanoa— John  S.  Rice,  John  Rice,  David 
Nelson,  William  Rhodes — "Swannanoa  Settlement"  on  Swannanoa  at  mouth 
of  Bee  Tree  Creek— Alexanders,  Davidsons— First  Field  cleared  in  Bun- 
combe—Bull Mountain— Settlements  on  Reems  and  Flat  Creeks,  and  on 
French  Broad,  and  on  Hominy  Creek— Treaty  of  Long  Island  of  Holston— 
Arrangements  for  treaty  with  Cherokees  of  Middle  Towns  and  Valley  Towns 
—North  Carolina  Act  of  1783 P^^e  51 


I  Contents  13 

I 

Chapter  V 
Swannanoa  River  dividing  line  between  Burke  and  Rutherford  Counties-Joseph 
McDowell  s  Line-Grant  to  Captain  William  Moore  who  put  negroes  on  land 
-Buncombe  County  formed  from  Burke  and  Rutherford  Countie^Named 
or  Colone  hd^^^rd  Buncombe-Genealogy  of  Buncombe  County-Clarendon 
Coun  y-New  Hanover  County-Bladen  County-Anson  County-Rowan 
rZr'"^''^^'  f  County-Mecklenburg  County-Tryon  County-Lincoln 
County— Rutherford  County— David  Vance  and  Colonel  William  Davidson- 
Creation  of  Buncombe  County— Organization  of  Buncombe  County— First 
place  of  Sittmg  of  County  Court-'-Talking  for  Buncombe"-Felix  Walker- 
iJr.  K.  B.  Vance- James  Graham— S.  P.  Carson— Vance- Carson  duel— David 
Crockett— Indian  Empire— Christian  Briber page  62 

Chapter  VI 

Town  of  Asheville— John  Burton— Grants  for  Asheville— Town  laid  out- 
Named  Morristown— Plan  of  Town— Formation  of  Buncombe  County— Loca- 
tion of  county  town— Called  Morristown— Places  considered  for  site  of  town— 
bteam-saw-mill  Place— William  Morrison— Origin  of  Name  of  Morristown— 
Indian  Graves— Big  Branch— Asheville  Public  Square— Grants  of  Charles  II 
to  Lords  Proprietors— Conveyances  to  George  II.— John  Carteret,  Earl  of 
Granville— Granville  Land— Granville  Suit— John  Carteret,  Earl  of  Granville 
—Act  establishing  Buncombe  County— Commissioners  to  locate  County  town 
—Election  of  first  County  officers— John  Davidson— Thomas  Davidson- 
John  Dillard— Reuben  Wood— Superior  Court  of  District  of  Morgan— Jurors 
first  from  Buncombe— Sale  of  town  lots— Thomas  Foster— Thomas  Foster 
Sr.— Zebulon  and  Be^lent  Baird— Zebulon  Baird— First  wagon  in  Buncombe-^ 
Stage-coach— Baird  'Suit— John  Street— Joseph  Hughey— James  Hughey— 
John  Gray  Blount  Tax  Sale— John  Craig— Henry  West— First  Sheriff— First 
Treasurer— William  Forster,  Sr.— Ephraim  Drake  Harris— Samuel  Lusk— 
James  Brittain— Colonel  William  Davidson— Buncombe's  first  State  Senator- 
General  William  Davidson— Samuel  Davidson— Major  William  Davidson- 
Daniel  Smith— Swannanoa  Settlement— Gabriel  Ragsdale  and  William 
Brittain,  first  members  of  House  of  Commons  from  Buncombe— Colonel  John 
Patton— Opened  firsS^^nty  Court— First  County  Surveyor— Patton's  Bridge 
—Samuel  Ashe — Ashe^i3*e  named  for  him — Change  of  Morristown  to  Ashe- 
ville— Bayard  v.  Singleton— Colonel  David  Vance— Buncombe  County  Court's 
first  _  clerk— Governor  Z.  B.  Vance— General  R.  B.  Vance— Colonel  A.  T. 
Davidson— Cherokees  pl^n  attack  in  1793  on  Swannanoa  settlements^ 
Colonel  Doherty  and  Colonel  McFarland's  invasion  of  Cherokee  country  from 

Tennessee   in  1793 — Asheville  saved  from  Cherokees page  69 

Chapter  VII 

Asheville  incorporated — Act  of  incorporation — John  Jarrett — Samuel  Chunn — 
William  Welch- George  Swain— Zebulon  Baird— Plan  of  Asheville  and  addi- 
tions— N.  Blackstock — R.  B.  Johnston — John  Jarrett — Edmund  Sams — First 
Ferry  over  French  Broad,  Sams's  Ferry,  later  Jarrett's  Ferry— Smith's 
Bridge — Concrete  Bridge — Edmund  Sams — Buncombe's  first  Coroner — Benoni 
Sams — William  Gudger,  Sr. — James  Gudger — James  M.  Smith — First  white 
child  born  west  of  Blue  Ridge  in  North  Carolina — Iron  Bridge — Samuel 
Chunn— Chunn's  Tanyard— Chunn's  Cove— A.  B.  Chunn— William  Welsh — 
George  Swain — Joel  Lane,  founder  ot  Raleigh — General  Joseph  Lane — 
David  L.  Swain — First  wagon  in  Buncombe — Post-road  through  Buncombe — 


14  Contents 

*Asheville  distributing  point  for  mails  for  Georgia,  Carolinas,  and  Tennessee — 
George  Swain  postmaster — Hatter-shop — William  Coleman — Baccus  J.  Sn-.ith 
— Grove  Park — Early  Roads — Indian  Annoyances — Road  to  Benjamin  David- 
son's Creek — Road  over  Reems  Creek — Road  "from  Buncombe  Courthouse  to 
the  Bull  ^Mountain  Road  near  Robt.  Love's" — Road  to  Jonathan  McPetei-s's 
on  Hominy — Road  from  Asheville  north — Beaverdam  Road — Old  Warm 
Springs  Road-^Hopewell  Turnpike — Jewel  Hill  Road — Philip  Hoodenpile — 
Road  from  Buncombe  Courthouse  to  Tennessee — Warm  Springs  Discovered — 
Colonel  J.  Barnett — Saluda  Gap  and  first  wagon — Saluda  Gap  Road — Colonel 

.  Earle — Old  State  Road,  Buncombe  Road-\"Road  from  Augusta  in  Georgia  to 
Knoxville" — First  wagon  from  North  Carolina  to  Tennessee page  92 

Chapter  VHI 

Bishop  .Anbury's  Visits  to  Buncombe  and  Asheville  in  1800,  1801,  1802,  1803, 
1805,  1806,  1807,  1808,  1809,  1810,  1812,  1813— Killian's— Side-fords— 
Captain  Thomas  Foster — Francis  Asbury — Asbury's  Journals — States  owTiing 
back-countr>'  at  close  of  Revolution — South  Carolina's  cession  to  United 
States — Georgia's  cession — United  States  cession  to  Georgia — Georgia's 
Walton  County — Location  of  North  Carolina's  southern  boundary  next  to 
Georgia — 35°  Parallel  of  Latitude — Controversy  between  North  Carolina  and 
Georgia — '"Georgia  War"' page  106 

Chapter  IX 

'Buncombe  Turnpike — Travel — Asheville  and  Greenville  Plank  Road — Thomas 
Foster's  Bridge  and  Road — Hogs,  cattle,  horses,  droves  from  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky — John  Patton's  Road — Biltmore  Concrete  Bridge— f Asheville  as  a 
resort  for  seekers  of  health  and  pleasure  from  South  Carolina — Court  at 
Colonel  William  Davidson's  home — Buncombe's  first  Courthouse,  second 
Courthouse — Buncombe's  Jail  in  1802 — Asheville's  Public  Square — Commis- 
sioners to  buy  laiid  for  Public  Square — Deeds  for  Public  Square — Commis- 
sioners, Samuel  ^Murray,  senr.,  Thomas  Foster,  Jacob  Byler,  Thomas  Love, 
and  James  Brittain — Buncombe's  third  Courthouse,  1825-1833 — N.  W.  Wood- 
lin — Buncombe's  fourth  Courthouse,  destroyed  in  1865 — Buncombe's  fifth 
Courthouse — Buncombe's  sixth  Courthouse — G.  W.  Pack — Buncombe's 
seventh  Courthouse — Buncombe's  third  Jail — Buncombe's  fourth  Jail — Bun- 
combe's fifth  Jail — Buncombe's  first  Jail — Sale  by  County  of  part  of  Public 
Square — Lawyers — Reuben  Wood,  Buncombe's  first  Solicitor — Waighstill 
Avery,  North  Carolina's  first  Attorney  General — First  motion  in  court — 
Wallace  Alexander — Joseph  McDowell — James  Holland — Joseph  Spencer — 
Bennett  Smith — Robert  Williamson — Robert  Henry — Sulphur  Springs — Last 
of  the  Heroes  of  Kings  Mountain — Deaver's  Springs — John  P.  Arthur,  History 
of  Western  North  Carolina,  History  of  Watauga  County — Thomas  Barren — 
Israel  Pickens — Joseph  Wilson — Joseph  Carson — Robert  H.  Burton — Henry 
Harrison — Saunders  Donoho — John  C.  Elliott — Henry  Y.  Webb — Tench 
Cox,  Jr.— A.  R.  Ruffin— John  Paxton— Abe  Collins— Counterfeiters— D.  L. 
Swain — George  Newton — Mr.  Porter — Newton  Academy — B.  F.  Perry — 
Waddy  Thompson— M.  Patton— R.  B.  Vance— James  W.  Patton— University 
of  North  Carolina — Z.  B.  Vance's  Life  and  Character  of  Hon.  D.  L.  Swain — 
Judge  Seawell— Old  Warping  Bars,  Old  Bunk— James  R.  Dodge— Samuel 
Hillman — Thomas  Dewes — Mrs  Silvers  hung — State  Capitol — Joshua  Roberts 
— John  H.  Christy — Highland  Messenger — Asheville  Citizen — Thomas  Lanier 


Contents  1 5 

Clingman—Clingman- Yancey  Duel— Black  IMountain— :Mitchell's  Peak- 
Highest  Land  in  United  States  east  of  Rocky  [Mountains- Elisha  Mitchell— 
Clingman's  Dome— Zebulon  B.  Vance— Robert  Brank  Vance— Allen  Turner 
Davidson— Augustus  S.  [Merrimon— John  L.  Bailey— Aston  Park— David  Cole- 
man—Nicholas W.  Woodfin— Orchard  Grass  in  Buncombe— Sorghum  in  Bun- 
combe— Woodfin  Street— Marcus  Erwin— North  Carolina  Secession_page-  117 

Chapter  X 

First  Buncombe  County  Court— James  Davidson— David  Vance— William 
Whitson— William  Davidson— James  Alexander— James  Brittain— Philip 
Hoodenpile— First  Action  of  Court— John  Patton— Lambert  Clayton- 
William  Brittain— Election  of  County  officers— First  Trials— State  v.  Richard 
Yardly— W.  Avery  v.  W.  Fletcher— Susannah  Baker  first  pauper— First  Pro- 
cessioning—William Whitson,  processioner— Lineing  Branch— First  Will 
probated  that  of  Jonas  Gooch— First  Will  on  Record  that  of  Colonel  John 
Patton— First  Dower  to  Denry  Gash— "Rev.  George  Newton"  and  his  "Pres- 
bytery" and  "Circular"  and  action  of  Court  thereon— Newton  Academy 
Lottery — Edward  Williams  sentenced  to  be  whipped — Whipping-post — 
Capital  offences  in  North  Carolina— Cropping— Thomas  Hopper's  fight  with 
Philip  Williams  and  loss  therein  of  right  ear— Certificate  of  Court  about  the 
fight— "Jail,  Stocks,  and  Pillery" — Imprisonment  for  Debt  never  in  Bun- 
conibe — North  Carolina  Homestead  Exemption— Old  Debtor  laws— Emanci- 
pation of  Thomas  Foster's  negro  Jerry  Smith— Buncombe's  first  Fairs— Caty 
Troxell's  Deposition— First  Suit  tried  in  Morristown  (Asheville)— W.  Avery 
V.  W.  Fletcher,  Caveat— North  Carolina's  first  Attorney  General — Elections 
of  sheriff,  clerk,  register  of  deeds,  coroner,  entry-taker,  surveyor,  treasurer, 
treasurer  of  public  buildings,  standard-keeper,  made  by  County  Court — First 
Buncombe  Superior  Court— Buncombe  in  Sixth  Circuit— Sixth  Circuit  com- 
posed of  Surry,  Wilkes,  Ashe,  Buncombe,  Rutherford,  Burke,  Lincoln,  Iredell, 
Cabarrus,  Mecklenburg—  Buncombe  Superior  Courts  first  Mondav  after  fourth 
Monday  in  March  and  September— First  Capital  Trial  that  of  Randal  Delk 
for  Murder — Delk  first  man  hung  was  executed  south  of  Patton  Avenue  op- 
posite post-office — Negro  named  Christopher  next  executed — Execution  of 
Sneed   and  Henry — Gallows   Field — Negroes  shot  under  sentence  of  court- 

.  martial  by  Yankees— East  and  Chestnut  Streets— Early  service  by  publica- 
tion—Early Asheville  Ordinances— Zebulon  Baird,  Daniel  Jarrett,  William 
Brittain,  Samuel  Chunn,  William  Welshe,  George  Swain,  John  Patton — 
Newton  Academy  Lottery — Processioning,  its  origin  and  history — Mason  hung 
—College  Street page  133 

Chapter  XI 

Early  manufactures  in  Buncombe — Wool  cloth,  Flax,  Felt  hats,  Sfraw  hats, 
Furniture,  Ropes,  Flour,  Lumber,  Leather,  Shoes,  Harness,  Saddles,  Cow  bells, 
Guns,  Pottery  and  Delftware,  IMills-Game— Thomas  Foster— Fish— Fish- 
traps— Gigging— Brandy  and  Whiskey— Barrooms— Powder— Jacob  Byler— 
Bounty — Iron  and  Forges — Charles  Lane — Forges  on  Hominy,  Reems  Creek, 
and  Mills  River — Boilston  Gold  Mine — Forge  ISIountain — Grist  Mills — 
William  Davidson's  ]\Iill — John  Burton's  Mill — James  Gudger — Indians  hang 
boys  on  Battery  Park  hill— Captain  J.  M.  Gudger— Going  to  Mill— Handlen 
killed  by  Indians— Handlen  ISIountain— Going  to  Mill  to  Old  Fort— John 
Burton — Gap   Creek — Patton  and   Erwin — James  Patton — Andrew   Erwin — 


16  Contents 

Warm  Springs — Valley  Street — James  W.  Patton — Albert  T.  Summey — Hay- 
wood County  created — Act  of  creation — Eastern  jealousy  of  West — Columbus 
County — Part  of  Buncombe  to  make  Yancey  County — Parts  of  Buncombe  to 
make  Henderson  County — First  Settlers  of  Buncombe — Presbyterians,  Metho- 
dists, and  Baptists — Preachers — Churches — Piney  Grove,  Reems  Creek,  Ashe- 
ville,  and  Cane  Creek,  first  Presbyterian  Churches — Beaverdam,  Salem,  Ashe- 
ville,  and  Turkey  Creek,  first  Methodist   Churches — Asheville,   Green  River, 
and  Ivy,   first   Baptist   Churches — Newton   Academy — William    Foster,   Jr. — 
First  Church  in  Asheville — Andrew  Erwin,  Daniel  Smith,  John  Patton,  Ed- 
mond    Sams,    James    Blakely,    William    Foster,    Senr.,    Thomas    Foster,    Jr., 
William   Whitson,   William   Gudger,   Samuel  Murray,   Joseph  Henry,   David 
Vance,  William  Brittain,  George  Davidson,  John  Davidson  of  Hominy,  George 
Newton  —  "Cain      Creek"  —  "Robert     Patton's     Meetinghouse"  —  Benjamin 
Hawkins,   James   Patton,   William   Gudger,   Sr.,   Samuel  Murray,   Sr^   John 
McLane,   William   jNIcLane,    William  Moore,    Sr.,   Samuel  Davidson — Union 
Hill    Academy — First    house    at    Newton    Academy,    second,    third — George 
Newton — Dickson    Academy — First    Church    in    Asheville,    Baptist — Second 
Baptist   Church — Jewish    Synagogue — Third   Baptist   Church   in   Asheville — 
David   Garren,   C.    C.   :Matthews,    G.   M.   Alexander,   J.   F    Sullivan,   G.  W. 
Shackelford — First   Methodist   Church  in  Asheville — James  M.   Alexander — 
William  Coleman,  Israel  Baird,  Wilie  Jones,  J.  F.  E.  Hardy,  N.  W.  Woodfin, 
James  M.  Alexander,  George  W.  Jones,  James  M.  Smith,  Joshua  Roberts — 
Second    Methodist    Church— Third    jMethodist    Church— First    Presbyterian 
Church  after  Newton  Academy — Tames  Patton  and  Samuel  Chunn— Charles 
Moore,  James  W.  Patton,  Samuel  Chunn,  John  Hawkins,  John  B.  Whiteside — 
Next  Presbyterian  Church — First  Episcopal  Church  in  Asheville — James  W. 
Patton — Nicholas   W.    Woodfin,    Lester    Chapman,    Hatfield   Ogden — Second 
Episcopal    Church  —  Third    Episcopal    Church  — John    Alexander  —  James 
Alexander — James  :Mitchell  Alexander — Kings  Mountain— Musgrove's  Mill — 
Swannanoa  Gap— Swannanoa  Tunnel— Buncombe  Turnpike— "French  Broad" 
— Alexander's  Chapel — ^Nlontrealla — James  M.  Smith — Daniel  Smith — Femi- 
hurst— First  Catholic  Church  in  Asheville — W.  D.  Rankin— James  Gibbonsr— 
Second  Catholic  Church  in  Asheville— Third  Catholic  Church— First  Female 
School    in    .\sheville— John    Dickson— Elizabeth    Blackwell— First    Woman 
Physician  in  United  States— Asheville  College  for  Young  Women— Stephen 
Lee — Colonel  Lee's  School— Buncombe  Illiteracy— Asheville's  first  newspaper. 
Highand  Messenger— D.  R.  Mc Anally— Joshua  Roberts— John  H.  Christy— 
W.  H.  Deaver  and  The  Journal,  semi-weekly  newspaper— Asheville  Citizen 
first  daily  newspaper  in  Asheville P^ge  141 

CH.A.PTER   XII 

John  C.  Calhoun— Prediction  about  highest  land  east  of  Rocky  Mountain  and 
ground  of  prediction— Elisha  Mitchell— T.  L.  Clingman— Controversy  about 
first  measurement  of  Mitchell's  Peak— "Big  Tom  Wilson"— Mitchell's  Falls 
on  Cat  Tail  Creek  of  Cane  River— Mitchell's  Peak,  Mitchell's  High  Peak, 
Mount  Mitchell,  Clingman's  Peak,  Black  Dome— Mountain  House— Measure- 
ments of  Mitchell's  Peak;  Guyot's  6,701,  Turner's  6,711,  Clingman's  6,941, 
Mitchell's  6,708  and  6,772— Mitchell's  reason  for  thinking  Black  Mountain 
had  highest  peak  east  of  Rocky  Mountains— United  States  signal  station- 
Charles  Glass— Robert  Y.  Hayne— Asheville  a  military  centre— Camp  Patton, 
Camp  Clingman,  Camp  Jeter,  Battery  Porter,  Beaucatcher,  Opposite  former 


Contents  17 

S^A^^^n^'  ¥,o^tford  Avenue,  Riverside  Drive,  and  Battle  Ground-Battle 

^f  ^7^^\7  fl^f'^^'l  ^^^  ^^}^-^-  ^-  Shelton-Warehouses,  comer 
of  North  Main  and  Walnut  Streets,  South  part  of  Swannanoa  Hotel,  Valley 
3treet  Lexmgton  Avenue  and  Walnut  Street,  Patton  Avenue  and  Bailey 
Street— Confederate  Post-office  in  Asheville— Confederate  Commissary— Con- 
federate Hospital— Confederate  armories— Confederate  Armory  at  Asheville 
on  Valley  and  Eagle  Streets— Charter  of  Asheville  Amended  in  1840— Philip 
Brittain,  Thomas  Foster,  and  James  Gudger— Amendment  in  1841— Tames  M 
Smith,  James  W.  Patton,  N.  W.  Woodfin,  Isaac  T.  Poor,  and  James  F  E* 
Hardy— City  of  Asheville  in  1883— Amendments  in  1901,  and  1905— Ramoth 
and  Woo  scy—Montford—Kenilworth— Victoria— West  Asheville— Consolida- 
tion of  Asheville  and  West  Asheville— Asheville  first  town  of  Buncombe— 
Salem— Ueaversvi  lie,  Weaverville— Leicester,  Lick  Skillet,  The  Skillet- 
Western  Tsorth  Carolina  Railroad  sold  to  W.  J.  Best  and  others-Best- 
G.  W.  Vanderbilt— Biltmore  Estate— Biltmore— South  Biltmore— Black 
Mountain,  Gray  Eagle,  S.  Dougherty— Montreal,  Mountain  Retreat  Associa- 
*'?'^~%*^^"T^^^^''^^^^^~Swannanoa,  Coopers,  A.  D.  Cooper— Hazel— Buena 
Vista— Fairview—Ridgecrest— Acton— Turnpike— Skyland—Busbee— Candler 
—Barnardsville— Early  Roads  to  Buncombe— Caesar's  Head  Road— Saluda 
Gap  Road— Howards  Gap  Road— Mills  Gap  Road— Cooper's  Gap  Road— 
Hickorynut  Gap  Road— Swannanoa  Gap  Road— Road  down  Pigeon  River— 
Rabun's  Gap  Road— Little  Tennessee  Road— Old  Warm  Springs  Road- 
Murphy  Road— Watauga  Road— Bumsville  Road— C.  S.  Featherstone— Paint 
Rock  to  Saluda  Gap— Colonel  Enoch  H.  Cunningham— Carriages— Stock- 
drivers— Turkey  Droves— Droves  of  Hogs— Com  and  Taverns page  157 

Chapter  XIII 

No-Fence  Law— Farms— Western  Turnpike— Asheville  Paving— Cmshed  Rock- 
Stone  blocks— Bricks— Paving  South  Main  Street— General  P.  M.  B.  Young- 
Road  Improvement— Caney  Brown— J.  E.  Rankin— M.  L.  Reed— Western 
North  Carolina  Railroad  first  to  reach  Asheville— First  Depot— Second  Depot 
—Passenger  Station— Asheville  and  Spartanburg  Railroad— Captain  C.  M. 
McLoud— First  Telegraph— Henry  Station— First  Street -Cars  in  Asheville— 
Mr.  Davidson— SoutLside  Avenue— Electric  Street  Lights— Tower  on  Public 
Square— Gas  Lamps— Telephones— Sidewalks  in  Asheville— Cobble-stones, 
pknks,  flagstones,  bricks,  concrete— Tournaments  and  Baseball  Ground  and 
Picknics  and  Public  Speaking— Tournaments— Gander-pulling— Baseball— 
Town-ball— Public-gatherings  place— Merchants  of  Asheville  and  Buncombe- 
Goods  hauled  from  Charleston  and  Augusta— Teams  and  wagons— Visits  to 
markets— Morganton,  Greenville,  and  Greeneville— Raihoad  from  Morris- 
town  to  Wolf  Creek— Marion,  Old  Fort,  Henry  Station— First  Money  in 
Buncombe— Pounds,  Shilli;igs,  Spanish  Milled  Dollars  or  Mexican  Dollars- 
United  States  Currency— Bechtler  Gold  Coins— Testing  Bechtler  Coins— Bun- 
combe Treasurer  in  Confederate  days  issued  State  Paper  Money  for  one 
Dollar  and  less,  and  during  same  time  Asheville  issued  paper  money  for  less 
than  dollar— Exchange  of  Country  Produce  for  Goods,  barter,  "taking  out  in 
trade"— Asheville  Market  House— Asheville  Stores,  General  Stores — City 
Hall— Asheville's  First  Bur>'ing-ground  at  corner  of  Eagle  and  Market  Street's 
—Next  between  Aston  Street  and  Church  Street  Presbyterian  Church— Next 
South  of  Central  Methodist  Church— Riverside  Cemetery— John  Lyon's  tomb- 
stone oldest  in  Asheville  and  in  Riverside  Cemetery — John  Lyon — Shawano 


18  Contents 

Indians  burying-ground  oldest  in  Buncombe — Robert  Patton  burying-ground 
oldest  for  whites — Newton  Academy  burying-ground — Indian  Graves  on 
Patton  Avenue — Tradition  about  location  of  County-town  of  Buncombe 
County — Bar-room   Story page  169 

Chapter  XIV 
First  Preachers — George  Newton — Swanino  Circuit,  Samuel  Edney,  Samuel  Lowe 
— J.  S.  Burnett,  first  Station  Methodist  preacher — Jarvis  Buxton,  first  Epis- 
copalian preacher — Thomas  Stradley,  first  regular  Baptist  preacher — Mrs. 
William  Coleman,  first  member  of  Episcopal  Church — Jar\is  Buxton — R.  B. 
Vance,  first  physician — P.  C.  Lester  conducted  first  drug-store  in  Asheville — 
First  Photograph  Gallery  in  Asheville — James  M.  Alexander,  first  hotel- 
keeper — First  Asheville  Hitching-lot — Second  Hitching-lot — Later  Hitching- 
lots — Second  hotel,  Eagle  Hotel — James  Patton — Buck  Hotel,  James  M. 
Smith — Israel  Baird's  Hotel — Carolina  House,  John  Reynolds — Battery  Park 
Hotel — Frank  Coxe — Asheville  all-the-year  Resort — Langren  Hotel — Grove 
Park  Inn  —  Invalids  —  Gatchells  —  Gleitzman's  Sanatorium  —  Confederate 
Hospital — Mission  Hospital — Attempt  to  prevent  last — State  v.  Tenant — 
Waterworks — Public  Wells — Private  Wells  and  Springs — Changes  in  Physical 
features — Famous  Asheville  Springs — Bogs  in  Lexington  Avenue  and  Central 
Avenue — Old  Chestnut  Tree  near  Beaucatcher  Gap — E.  H.  Cunningham — 
Waterworks  before  the  War — Hosea  Lindsey — Captain  Thomas  W.  Patton — 
First  Waterworks — Pumping-Station  —  Montraville  Patton's  Mill  —  "Old 
Reservoir" — Standpipe — North  Fork  of  Swannanoa — Filter  Station — '"New 
Reservoir" — Bee  Tree  Line — Fire  Department — Hook  and  Ladder  Companies 
— Sewers — Asheville's  Altitude — Public  Square — City  on  hills— Freshets  of 
1791,  1845,  1852,  1876,  1916— Freshet  of  1852  carried  away  on  French  Broad 
bridges  at  Captain  Wiley  Jones,  Smith's  Bridge,  Garmon's  Bridge,  Alexander's 
Bridge,  Chunn's  Bridge,  Warm  Springs ;  and  on  Swannanoa  Colonel  Patton's 
Bridge — Freshet  of  1810  or  1811— Freshet  on  July  16,  1916,  flooded  lower 
streets  in  Asheville  and  Biltmore  and  drowned  men  in  both  places,  destroyed 
property,  and  injured  bridges — Patton  Avenue — Patton  Street — E.  Clayton — 
First  Planing-Mill — Wofford  College — Newton  Academy — John  Dickson 
School-house — Lowndes  or  Everett  or  Ward  houses — Confederate  guns — 
R.  W.  PuUiam — G.  W.  Whitson — Buncombe  County's  Centennial page  177 

Chapter  XV 
Names  of  Asheville  Streets — P.  Rollins,  and  F.  M.  Miller,  Aldermen,  and 
Colonel  R.  W.  Pulliam,  Captain  Thomas  W.  Patton,  and  Captain  William  :M. 
Cocke,  Jr.,  Committee,  name  streets — Changes  in  street  names.  Academy 
Street  and  Montford  Avenue,  Mulberry  Street  and  Cumberland  Avenue.  Starnes 
Street  and  and  Hiawassee  Street  ,  North  Main  Street  and  Broadway,  Beaver- 
dam  Street  and  Merrimon  Avenue,  Libbey  Stret;t  and  Liberty  Street,  Bridge 
Street  and  Central  Avenue,  White  Oak  Street  and  Oak  Street,  Pine  Street 
and  Furman  Avenue,  South  Main  Street  and  Biltmore  Avenue,  Bailey  Street 
and  Asheland  Avenue,  Maria  Avenue  and  French  Broad  Avenue,  Roberts 
Street  and  Bartlett  Street,  Buxton  Street  and  Park  Avenue,  Public  Square 
and  Pack  Square — Asheville  Public  Library — Principal  books  on  early 
Western  North  Carolina — Francis  Asbury's  Journals,  Charles  Lanman's 
Letters  from  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  Bennett's  Chronology  of  North  Caro- 
lina, Colton's  Mountain  Scenery,  Land  of  the  Sky  by  Christian  Reid,  Cling- 


Contents  19 

man's  Writings  and  Speeches,  Zeigler  and  Grosscup's  Heart  of  the  Alleghanies, 
Standard  Guide  to  Asheville  and  Western  North  Carolina,  Arthur's  Western 
North  Carolina— Eoneguski— Myths  of  the  Cherokee— M.  A.  Curtis's  Trees 
and  Shrubs  of  North  Carolina— G.  F.  Kunz's  History  of  Gems  Found  m 
North  Carolina— "Land  of  the  Sky" page  187 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Mount  INIitchell  above  the  clouds Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Asheville,  1856 — Boarding-House  of  Holston  Conference  Female  College 
(later  Asheville  Female  College) — Later  site  of  Oaks  Hotel,  then 
Cherokee  Inn,  now  Y.W.C.A.  Building— Right,  School  Building  of 
H.  C.  F.  College,  site  now  of  Asheville  Public  School  Building — Upper 

right  corner,  Beaucatcher  Summerhouse,  which  gave  peak  its  name 44 

Grave  of  Samuel  Davidson 60 

Autograph   Signature  of   Colonel   Edward  Buncombe   for  whom   Buncombe 

County  was  named 63 

A  Plan  of  the  Town  of  Asheville 70 

A  Plan  of  Asheville  as  first  incorporated 94 

Asheville,  1883— Iron  Bridge  looking  west— Railroad  Bridge  higher  in 
picture — Site  of  Sams's  Ferry  over  French  Broad,  later  Jarrett's  Ferry, 

later  Smith's  Bridge,  now  Concrete  Bridge .'     95 

Asheville,  1854— Drawn  by  C  H.  G.  F.  Loehr,  published  as  lithograph 
by  James  M.  Edney  and  later  as  steel  engraving  in  H.  Colton's  Moun- 
tain Scenery— Court  House,  1850-1865— First  Methodist  Church— First 

Presbyterian  Church— First  Episcopal  Church  on  Church  Street 121 

Asheville— Court  House,  1876-1903— Public  Square— Vance  Monument 123 

Asheville— Central  (Church  Street)  M.  E.  Church,  South,  1857-1903 149 

Grave    of    James    Alexander— Piney    Grove— Dark    Slab    with    white    piece 

inserted -,^2 

IMitchell's  Falls— Yancey   County— Cat-tail  Branch  of  Caney  River— Scene 

of  Death  of  Dr.  Elisha  Mitchell  in  1857 I53 

Mitchell's  Peak j^q 

Bechtler  Coins -in-, 

Asheville   Confederate  Currency _  _  __  174 

Grave  of  John  Lyon— Riverside   Cemetery— Asheville I75 

Bank  Hotel  looking  north,  site  of  T.  C.  Smith  Drug-store 17S 

North  Public  Square— Buck  Hotel,  left  background— 1888 17S 

Asheville,  1883— Eastern  side  of  French  Broad  River  near  (earlier)  site  of 

Smith's  Bridge jgO 

Asheville— Patton  Avenue— Public   Square  looking  west— about  1885 182 

Gun  for  Confederate  use  made  on  Spruce  Street  in  Asheville  by  E.  Clayton, 

R.  W.  Pullium,  and  G.  W.  Whitson _..!  184 

Asheville,  1866— Right  centre,  Roberts  House— Stable  above,  site  of 
Elks  Buildmg  on  Haywood  Street— Walnut  Street  between— House 
above  Stable  site  of  Haywood  Building— Lower  left  comer.  Stable  on 
Lexmgton  Avenue— Penland  Street  now  crosses  centre  from  left  to  right  186 

Asheville— Eastern  side  of  South  :Main  Street— Upper  Floor  marked 
"R^eading"  first  room  occupied  by  Asheville  Public  Library— About 
1878— Site  of  Old  George  Swain  House  where  John  Lyon  died  in 
portion  just  south  of  cut '__ _  _  jgg 


ASHEVILLE  AND 
BUNCOMBE  COUNTY 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Chapter  I 
DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA 

THE  early  history  of  every  country  is  wrapt  in  obscurity.  Per- 
haps this  was  to  be  expected  in  ancient  days.  But  modern 
lands  form  no  exception  to  this  observation. 
It  has  been  remarked  that  there  are  few  nations  in  Europe  or 
Asia  which  have  not  put  forward  claims  to  a  discovery  of  America  long 
prior  to  that  made  by  Columbus.  One  of  the  earliest  of  these  claims 
made  by  white  men  is  that  in  which  the  Norwegian  Sagas  assert  that  in 
986  A.D.  some  of  the  Norwegians  found  North  America.  But  these 
same  Sagas  relate  a  discovery  of  still  earlier  date  made  by  the  Irish. 
They  say  that  while  the  Norwegians  were  on  the  American  shores  at  a 
place  which  they  called  Vinland,  the  natives  told  them  of  a  country 
farther  south  and  beyond  what  is  now  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  where  there 
lived  "white  men,  who  clothed  themselves  in  long  white  garments, 
carried  before  them  poles  to  which  cloths  were  attached,  and  called 
with  a  loud  voice."  By  this  the  Norwegian  visitors  understood  that 
these  unknown  white  men  marched  in  processions  and  carried  banners 
and  sang  songs.  In  the  oldest  of  these  Sagas  the  present  Carolinas  are 
called  "Land  of  the  White  Men"  and  "Great  Ireland"  and  "Huitra- 
mannaland."  These  Sagas  further  related  that,  before  the  Norwegians 
saw  America,  and  probably  in  982,  Ari  Marsson,  of  the  Icelandic  race 
of  Ulf  the  Squint-eyed,  in  a  voyage  from  Iceland,  was  driven  to  the 
Land  of  the  White  Men  and  was  there  recognized  by  men  who  had 
come  from  the  Orkney  Islands  and  Iceland,  and  it  has  even  been  said 
that  Iceland  was  first  settled  by  white  men  who  had  come  from  this 
colony  of  Irishmen  in  the  Carolinas. 

If  this  story  of  the  Land  of  the  White  Men  and  its  Irish  inhabi- 
tants be  true,  this  was  North  Carolina's  first  "Lost  Colony." 

Humboldt  believed  in  this  story  of  the  discovery  of  North  America 
by  the  Norwegians,  but  thought  that  their  Vinland  was  "the  central 


26  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

and  southern  portions  of  the  United  States  of  America."  If  he  was 
correct  in  this,  North  Carolina  in  the  Norwegians  had  a  second  "Lost 
Colony." 

According  to  a  Welsh  statement,  Madoc,  a  prince  of  Wales,  sailed 
westward  from  his  country  in  1170  and  found  an  unkno\Mi  land  where, 
on  a  second  voyage,  he  planted  a  colony  of  his  people.  This  settlement 
has  been  supposed  to  be  in  the  Carolinas;  and  it  is  said  that  among  the 
Tuscaroras  of  Eastern  North  Carolina  once  lived  Indians  who  spoke 
the  Welsh  language. 

"In  1660,  Rev.  Morgan  Jones,  a  Welsh  clergyman,  seeking  to  go 
by  land  from  South  Carolina  to  Roanoke,  was  captured  by  the  Tus- 
carora  Indians,''  then  in  North  Carolina.  "He  declares  that  his  life 
was  spared  because  he  spoke  Welsh,  which  some  of  the  Indians  under- 
stood; that  he  was  able  to  converse  with  them  in  Welsh,  though  with 
some  difficulty;  and  that  he  remained  with  them  for  months,  some- 
times preaching  to  them  in  Welsh.  John  Williams,  LL.D.,  who  repro- 
duced the  statement  of  Mr.  Jones  in  his  work  on  the  story  of  Prince 
Madog's  Emigration,  published  in  1791,  explaining  it  by  assuming 
that  Prince  Madog  settled  in  North  Carolina,  and  that  the  Welsh 
colony,  after  being  weakened,  was  incorporated  with  these  Indians. 
If  we  may  believe  the  story  of  Mr.  Jones  (and  I  cannot  find  that  his 
veracity  was  questioned  at  the  time),  it  will  seem  necessary  to  accept 
this  explanation.  It  will  be  recollected  that,  in  the  early  colony  times, 
the  Tuscaroras  were  sometimes  called  'White  Indians.'  "  (J.  D. 
Baldwin's  Pre-historic  Nations,  1869,  402-403.)  Was  this  North 
Carolina's  third  "Lost  Colony"  ? 

Whether  these  stories,  or  any  of  them,  be  accepted,  the  American 
Indians  were  the  first  discoverers  of  America.  At  last,  then,  all  the 
controversies  on  the  subject  merely  relate  to  the  question.  Who  was  the 
second  or  later  discoverer  of  America? 

When  Columbus  set  out  in  1492  on  his  first  voyage,  which  resulted 
in  the  discovery  of  the  West  India  Islands,  he  but  acted  in  obedience 
to  the  impulses  of  a  spirit  that  was  then  common  among  the  maritime 
peoples  of  Europe.  It  was  an  age  of  adventure  and  discovery,  the 
border  line  between  the  two  great  periods  of  modern  development, 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  27 

between  the  age  of  war  and  war-like  adventure  which  had  just  passed 
its  meridian  and  the  age  of  commerce  and  commercial  adventure  which 
had  just  begun.  Although  by  reason  of  his  wonderful  discovery  and 
remarkable  career,  he  was  the  most  eminent,  he  was,  by  no  means,  the 
first  of  the  venturesome  and  restless  spirits  of  his  century  who  risked 
the  unknown  perils  of  the  sea  in  search  of  new  lands  and  the  wild 
pursuits  of  fabulous  wealth ;   nor  was  he  the  last  of  these. 

His  success  inflamed  the  more  the  spirit  of  reckless  daring  which 
already  burned  so  brightly.  Hundreds  rushed  forward  to  retrace  his 
course  and  transcend  the  utmost  limits  which  even  he  had  reached. 
And  when  these  had  found  new  lands,  others  of  kindred  spirit  stood 
ready  to  explore  and  settle  them.  Discovery  and  occupation  went  hand 
in  hand.  Probably  at  no  other  period  in  the  world's  history  would 
new-found  territory  have  been  visited  at  so  early  a  day  after  its  dis- 
covery by  such  numbers  of  people  seeking  homes  upon  its  shores. 

In  1539  Hernando  De  Soto,  one  of  the  Spanish  conquerors  of 
Peru,  undertook  to  explore  the  eastern  part  of  the  present  United  States 
in  search  of  another  Peru.  Starting  from  Tampa  Bay  in  Florida,  he 
marched  northward  through  Florida,  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  and 
into  North  Carolina.  Then  he  turned  west  into  the  mountains,  probably 
through  Hickorynut  Gap  to  French  Broad  River,  and  pursued,  in 
1540,  his  journey  toward  the  southwest  until  he  came  to  the  Mississippi 
River;  and,  after  some  further  explorations,  he  died  on  that  stream  in 
1542.  The  chief  object  of  his  search  was  gold.  If  he  found  little  gold 
he  probably  found  where  there  were  gold  mines.  In  1566  Pedro 
Menendez  de  Aviles,  the  celebrated  Spanish  commander  who  drove  the 
French  from  their  settlement  in  Florida,  built  a  fort  in  South  Carolina 
at  Port  Royal,  or  as  the  Spaniards  called  the  region  Saint  Helena,  and 
named  the  fort  San  Felipe  and  garrisoned  it  with  one  hundred  and  ten 
soldiers  under  Stephen  de  las  Alas.  In  November  of  that  year  Captain 
Juan  Pardo  was  sent  from  that  fort  with  a  company  to  explore  the 
interior.  Marching  northwestwardly  and  northeastwardly,  Pardo 
came,  at  the  end  of  about  300  or  350  miles,  to  the  country  of  the  Sara 
or  Suala  Indians.    He  built  a  fort  there  and  placed  in  it  a  garrison  of 


28  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

thirty  soldiers  under  a  sergeant.     This  was  at  Xualla  where  twenty- 
six  years  before  De  Soto  turned  west  into  the  mountains. 

The  chief  of  the  Juada  or  Joara  (Sara  or  Suala)  Indians  had 
renewed  at  San  Felipe  the  acquaintance  which  he  had  formed  at 
Xualla  with  the  Spaniards  under  De  Soto  in  1540,  and  now  accom- 
panied Pardo  from  San  Felipe.  Pardo  returned  to  San  Felipe;  and 
in  1567,  under  his  order  the  sergeant  entered  the  mountains  and 
pursued  the  way  which  De  Soto  had  taken  from  Xualla.  Four  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  of  this  journey  brought  the  sergeant  to  Coosa  whither 
Pardo,  by  appointment,  had  marched  to  meet  him.  While  the 
Spaniards  were  at  San  Felipe  they  obtained  gold  and  silver  from  a 
country  in  latitude  north  35>^  degrees,  180  miles  to  the  north,  where 
were  "the  townes  of  Otapales  and  Olagatanos."  These  towns  were  in  a 
country  called  by  the  Indians  Yupaha,  Aixacan,  Chiquola,  Chisca, 
Apalatci,  and  Onagatano;  by  the  Spaniards  La  Grand  Copal  or 
Florida;  by  the  French  New  France,  Louisiane  Apalche,  or  Apalache; 
by  the  English  Virginia,  and  now  known  as  Western  North  Carolina. 
It  had  mines  of  gold,  copper  and  silver. 

In  1564  some  Huguenots,  sent  from  France  through  the  efforts  of 
Admiral  Coligni  and  commanded  by  Rene  G.  Laudonniere,  formed  a 
settlement  and  built  a  fort  in  Florida  on  Saint  John's  River  near  its 
mouth,  and  remained  there  a  little  more  than  a  year,  when  the  fort  was 
taken  and  destroyed  and  their  settlement  broken  up  by  the  Spaniards 
under  Pedro  Menendez  de  Aviles.  While  in  Florida  Laudonniere 
collected  much  silver  and  some  gold  from  the  Indians  who  claimed  to 
have  brought  these  metals  from  "the  mountaines  of  Apalatcy."  These 
"mountaines"  were  in  Western  North  Carolina.  From  the  same 
Indians  he  learned  that  in  those  mountains  was  to  be  found  also  "redde 
copper." 

In  1653  an  expedition  from  Virginia  into  North  Carolina  under 
Francis  Yardly's  patronage  learned  from  the  Tuscarora  Indians  of  a 
wealthy  Spaniard  living  with  his  family  of  thirty  members  and  eight 
negro  slaves  in  the  principal  town  of  those  Indians  where  he  had 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  29 

resided    for   seven   years,    and   that   the   Haynokes   or   Eno    Indians      * 
"'vaHantly  resisted  the  Spaniard's  further  northern  attempts"  in  North 
Carolina. 

In  1670  a  Virginia  explorer  into  North  Carolina,  named  John 
Lederer,  ascertained  from  the  Usheries  (Catawbas)  and  some  visiting 
Sara  Indians  "that  two  days'  journey  and  a  half  from  hence  to  the 
southwest,  a  powerful  nation  of  bearded  men  were  seated,  which  I 
suppose  to  be  Spaniards,  because  the  Indians  never  have  any."  In 
1669  Sir  William  Berkeley,  governor  of  Virginia,  expected  to  find 
silver  mines  in  North  Carolina,  "for  certaine  it  is  that  the  Spaniard  in 
the  same  degrees  of  latitude  has  found  many."  In  1690  James  Moore, 
secretary  of  the  colony  settled  at  Charlestown  in  South  Carolina,  made 
an  exploring  tour  up  the  country  to  the  mountains  until  he  reached  a 
place  where  his  Indian  guides  said  that  twenty  miles  away  Spaniards 
vvere  mining  and  smelting  with  furnaces  and  bellows.  Numerous 
traces  of  mining  operations  in  Western  North  Carolina  before  the 
English  came  but  in  w^hich  iron  implements  (unknown  to  Indians) 
were  used  have  been  found,  some  in  the  country  of  the  Sara  Indians 
near  Lincolnton,  some  at  Kings  Mountain,  and  some  in  Cherokee 
County  which  the  Cherokees  said  had  been  made  by  Spaniards  from 
Florida  throughout  three  summers  until  the  Cherokees  killed  them.  J^ 
Thus  the  Spaniards  lived  and  mined  in  Western  North  Carolina  more  |  Q\ 
than  125  years  from  1540  till  1690  and  later.  J)  ^ 

The  first  gold  mine  opened  in  the  United  States  by  English- 
speaking  people  was  the  Reed  mine  near  Charlotte.    From  1793  North 
Carolina  gold  was  minted  by  the  United  States  and  from  1804  to  1827  \ 
all  the  gold  produced  in  the  United  States  came  from  North  Carolina.   | 

In  1497,  John  Cabot  discovered  the  continent  of  North  America, 
and  in  1498,  his  son,  Sebastian  Cabot,  explored  the  coast  of  his  father's 
discovery  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Cape  Hatteras.  Almost  immediately 
England  began  to  claim  this  land  and  English  adventurers  began  to 
plan  its  exploration  and  colonization.  The  most  able,  as  well  as  the 
most  enterprising  and  eminent,  of  these  was  the  famous  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh.  He  early  conceived. the  scheme  of  colonizing  this  new  world, 
and  at  once  entered  upon  the  undertaking  with  that  vigor  and  daring 


30  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

which  characterized  all  his  enterprises.  In  1584,  he  sent  out  an  ex- 
pedition under  Philip  Amidas  and  Arthur  Barlow.  These  men  con- 
ducted a  most  prosperous  trade  with  the  Indians  of  the  North  Carolina 
coast;  and  upon  their  return  to  England  with  numerous  proofs  of  the 
wonderful  land  which  they  had  visited  and  the  wonderful  people  whom 
they  had  seen,  Queen  Elizabeth  caught  the  enthusiasm  of  the  voyagers 
and  allowed  the  land  to  be  named  in  honor  of  herself,  Virginia. 
Strange  it  is,  but  true,  that  the  original  Virginia  should,  at  a  later  date, 
have  lost  its  name  to  its  more  Northern  sister  and  taken  from  another 
British  monarch  the  new  name  of  Carolina.  The  next  year  another 
expedition,  sent  out  by  Sir  W^alter  Raleigh  under  Ralph  Lane,  founded 
a  colony  on  Roanoke  Island  on  the  coast  of  North  Carolina.  This 
attempt  at  an  English  settlement  in  a  new  w^orld  was  a  failure;  but  it 
was,  by  no  means,  fruitless  in  results,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter. 

Two  years  later  another  attempt  was  made  by  the  indefatigable 
Raleigh  to  effect  a  settlement  at  Roanoke  Island,  an  attempt  which 
resulted  in  that  historical  mystery,  "the  lost  colony."  But  again  the 
unfortunate  Raleigh  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  This  man  opened 
a  way,  and  his  fellow  countrymen  soon  found  means  to  accomplish 
what  he  had  endeavored,  at  such  loss  and  sacrifice,  to  achieve.  He 
was,  beyond  question,  the  greatest  of  the  founders  of  the  American 
States;  and  the  honor  which  North  Carolina  has  paid  to  his  memory 
in  bestowing  his  name  upon  her  capital  city  is  a  well-deserved  tribute 
to  her  greatest  benefactor. 

After  several  more  efforts,  a  settlement  was  made  in  North  Caro- 
lina which  proved  to  be  permanent.  From  such  beginnings  arose  the 
Old  North  State.  She  has  been  charged  with  being  always  behind; 
yet  few  States  can  justly  claim  to  have  kept  pace  with  her. 

Of  the  voyage  of  Amidas  and  Barlow  to  her  shores  Wheeler 
declares  that,  "it  was  then  and  there  'the  meteor  flag'  of  England  was 
first  displayed  in  the  United  States  and  on  the  sandy  banks  of  North 
Carolina  rested  the  first  Anglo-Saxon  anchor." 

Through  Lane's  expedition  in  1585,  she  first  introduced  to  the 
civilized  world  Indian  corn,  sassafras,  Irish  potatoes  and  tobacco;  or 
t  is  so  claimed. 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  31 

Upon  her  borders  was  founded  the  first  English  settlement  in 
America. 

In  the  far-famed  "lost  colony"  was  born  and  disappeared  Virginia 
Dare,  the  first  child  of  English  parentage  born  upon  American  soil. 

The  first  gold  mines  worked  by  Americans  were  the  Reed  mines  in 
Cabarrus  County,  North  Carolina. 

The  first  battle  for  American  independence  was  fought  by  North 
Carolinians  on  North  Carolina  soil  at  Alamance,  in  resistance  to  the 
tyrannical  British  Governor,  Tryon,  on  May  16,  1771,  and  here  was 
spilled  the  first  blood  ever  shed  in  the  cause  of  American  freedom. 

In  1765,  the  British  Parliament  passed  the  famed  Stamp  Act 
taxing  paper  and  certain  other  articles  used  by  the  American  colonies. 
This  was  a  distinct  violation  of  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  British 
Constitution,  forbidding  taxation  without  representation,  submission 
to  which  on  the  part  of  these  colonies  would  have  been  an  unequivocal 
concession  that  they  were  not  entitled  to  the  rights  of  English  freemen. 
Of  the  reception  of  the  attempt  to  enforce  this  act  in  North  Carolina 
her  historian  Wheeler  says  : 

"This  act  produced  a  violent  excitement  throughout  the  whole 
country,  and  in  none  more  than  in  North  Carolina.  The  Legislature 
was  then  in  session,  and  such  was  the  excitement  this  odious  measure 
of  Parliament  created  among  the  members,  that  apprehending  some 
violent  expression  of  popular  indignation,  Governor  Tryon  on  the  18th 
of  May,  prorogued  that  body  after  a  session  of  fifteen  days.  The 
speaker  of  the  House,  John  Ashe,  Esq.,  informed  Governor  Tryon  that 
this  law  would  be  resisted  to  blood  and  death.  Governor  Tryon  knew 
that  the  storm  raged ;  courageous  as  he  was,  he  dreaded  its  fury.  He 
did  not  allow  the  Legislature  to  meet  during  the  existence  of  this  act, 
but  faithful  to  the  government,  he  condescended  to  use  the  arts  of  the 
demagogue,  to  avoid  the  odium  of  its  measures.  He  mingled  freely 
with  the  people,  displaying  profuse  hospitality,  and  prepared  dinners 
and  feasts.  But  unawed  by  power,  the  people  were  not  to  be  seduced 
by  blanishments.  Early  in  the  year  1765,  the  Dilligence,  a  sloop  of 
war,  arrived  in  the  Cape  Fear  river  with  stamp  paper  for  the  use  of  the 
colony.     Colonel  John  Ashe,  of  the  County  of  New  Hanover,  and 


32  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Colonel  Waddell  of  the  County  of  Brunswick,  marched  at  the  head  of 
the  brave  sons  of  these  counties,  to  Brunswick,  before  which  town  the 
Dilligence  was  anchored,  terrified  the  captain,  so  that  no  attempt  was 
made  to  land  the  paper;  seized  the  sloop-of -war's  boat,  hoisted  it  on 
a  cart,  fixed  a  mast  in  her,  mounted  a  flag  and  marched  in  triumph  to 
Wilmington,  The  whole  town  joined  in  a  splendid  illumination  at 
night,  and  the  next  day  these  patriotic  citizens  went  to  the  Governor's 
house,  and  'bearded  the  Douglas  in  his  castle.'  They  demanded  of 
Governor  Tryon  to  desist  from  all  attempts  to  execute  the  stamp  act, 
and  produce  to  them  James  Houston,  who  was  a  member  of  the  council, 
an  inmate  of  the  Governor's  house,  and  who  had  been  appointed  by 
Tryon  Stamp  Master  for  North  Carolina.  The  governor  at  first 
refused  a  demand  so  tumultuously  made,  but  the  haughty  spirit  of  the 
representative  of  even  kingly  power,  yielding  before  the  power  of  a 
virtuous  and  incensed  people;  for  the  people  prepared  to  bum  up  the 
palace,  and  with  it  the  Governor,  the  Stamp  Master,  and  the  menials 
of  royal  power.  The  Governor  tiien  reluctantly  produced  Houston; 
who  was  seized  by  the  people,  carried  to  the  public  market  house,  and 
forced  to  take  a  solemn  oath  not  to  attempt  to  execute  his  office  as 
Stamp  Master.  After  this  he  w^as  released.  He  returned  to  the  palace, 
to  comfort  his  dejected  and  discomfited  master.  The  people  gave  three 
cheers  and  quietly  dispersed.  Here  is  an  act  of  North  Carolinians 
Worthy  of  all  Grecian  or  Roman  fame.'  The  famous  Tea  Party  of 
Boston,  when  a  number  of  citizens,  disguised  as  Indians,  went  on 
board  of  a  ship  in  the  harbor,  and  threw  overboard  the  tea  imported 
in  her,  has  been  celebrated  by  every  writer  of  our  National  Histor>'  and 

Tealed  and  chimed  on  every  tongue  of  fame.' 

"Our  children  are  taught  to  read  it  in  their  early  lessons;  it 
adorns  the  picture  books  of  our  nurseries,  and  is  known  in  the  remotest 
borders  of  the  republic.  Here  is  an  act  of  the  sons  of  the  'Old  North 
State,'  not  committed  on  the  harmless  carriers  of  the  freight,  or  crew 
of  a  vessel;  not  done  under  any  disguise  or  mask;  but  on  the  repre- 
sentative of  royalty  itself,  occupying  a  palace,  and  in  open  day,  by 
men  of  well  known  person  and  reputation;    much  more  decided  in  its 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  2>Z 

character,  more  daring  in  its  action,  more  important  in  its  results;  and 
vet  not  one-half  of  her  own  sons  ever  read  of  this  exploit;  it  is  not 
even  recorded  anywhere  in  the  pages  of  \A^illiamson,  who  is  one  of  her 
historians  and  who  was  one  of  the  delegates  from  North  Carolina  to 
the  Convention  which  formed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States; 
and  its  story  is  confined  to  the  limits  of  'our  own  pent  up  Utica.'  " 
(Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina,  page  50.) 

On  ]\[ay  20,  17  75,  the  people  of  Mecklenburg  County,  in  North 
Carolina,  made,  at  Charlotte,  in  that  county,  the  first  declaration  of 
independence,  as  well  established  as  the  '"Unanimous  Declaration  of 
the  Thirteen  United  States  of  America,"  at  Philadelphia,  on  July 
4,  1776. 

The  first  open  and  public  declaration  for  independence  by  any 
one  colony  was  that  made  on  April  12,  1776,  by  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress of  North  Carolina  assembled  at  Halifax,  when  that  memorable 
body,  on  motion  of  Cornelius  Harnett,  resolved: 

"That  the  delegates  for  this  colony  in  the  Continental 
Congress  be  impowered  to  concur  with  the  Delegates  of  the 
other  Colonies  in  declaring  Independence  and  forming 
foreign  alliances,  reserving  to  this  colony  the  sole  and  exclu- 
sive right  of  forming  a  constitution  and  laws  for  this  colony." 

In  the  late  war  for  Southern  rights  North  Carolina  entered  the 
struggle  with  great  deliberation,  but  having  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
South,  she  played  a  most  important  and  honorable  part  in  that  tragic 
event.  It  was  the  North  Carolinian  Henry  Wyatt  who  fell,  the  first 
soldier  to  die  in  defence  of  the  Southern  cause.  To  that  cause  North 
Carolina  furnished  more  troops  than  any  other  State,  and  to  her 
belongs  the  honor  of  having  sent  to  its  battle-fields  fully  one-fifth  of 
the  whole  Confederate  army.  Her  troops  were  the  first  to  repel  the 
invasion  of  Southern  soil  when,  on  June  10,  1861,  they  fought  and  won 
the  initial  battle,  which  has  passed  into  history  as  the  battle  of  Big 
Bethel. 

A  Virginia  writer,  the  Rev.  Wm.  Henry  Foote,  enthusiastically 
declared  that:    "Men  will  not  be  fullv  able  to  understand  Carolina  till 


34  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

they  have  opened  the  treasures  of  history  and  drawn  forth  some  few- 
particulars  respecting  the  origin  and  religious  habits  of  the  Scotch- 
]rish,  and  become  familiar  with  their  doings  previous  to  the  Revolu- 
tion— during  that  painful  struggle — and  the  succeeding  years  of  pros- 
perity; and  Carolina  will  be  respected  as  she  is  known/'  (Foote's 
Sketches  of  North  Carolina,  page  ^3.) 

The  historian,  George  Bancroft,  exclaims:  "Are  there  any  who 
doubt  man's  capacity  for  self-government  ?  Let  them  study  the  history- 
of  North  Carolina.  Its  inhabitants  were  restless  and  turbulent  in 
their  imperfect  submission  to  a  government  imposed  from  abroad;  the 
administration  of  the  colony  was  firm,  humane  and  tranquil  when  they 
were  left  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Any  government  but  one  of  their 
own  institution  was  oppressive.  North  Carolina  was  settled  by  the 
freest  of  the  free." 

When  the  immortal  contest  for  American  freedom  which  North 
Carolina  had  first  inaugurated  in  her  public  meetings,  legislative 
assemblies  and  her  battle-field  of  Alamance,  had  waged  for  years  with 
varying  fortune,  it  seemed  at  last  that  the  cause  of  her  choice  was  about 
to  be  crushed  beneath  the  superior  power  and  resources  of  her  enemies. 
Cornwallis  had  defeated  Gates  at  Camden  on  August  16,  1780,  and 
well-nigh  destroyed  and  thoroughly  demoralized  his  army,  and  two 
days  later  Tarleton  had  routed  Sumter  at  Fishing  Creek,  and  Georgia 
and  South  Carolina  were  entirely  overrun  by  the  troops  of  the  enemy, 
and  the  American  cause  seemed  about  to  expire.  The  British  general 
had  begun  his  march  northward  to  complete  the  subjugation  of  North 
Carolina  and  Virginia,  and  end  the  Revolution.  This  seemed,  under 
the  existing  circumstances,  an  easy  task. 

At  this  dark  crisis  the  Western  North  Carolinians  conceived  and 
organized  and,  with  the  aid  which  they  sought  and  obtained  from 
Virginia  and  the  Watauga  settlement,  now  in  Tennessee,  carried  to 
glorious  success  at  Kings  Mountain  on  October  7,  1780,  an  expedition 
which  thwarted  all  the  plans  of  the  British  commander,  and  restored 
the  almost  lost  cause  of  the  Americans  and  rendered  possible  its  final 
triumph  at  Yorktown  on  October  19,  1781.  This  expedition  wa^ 
without  reward  or  hope  of  reward,  undertaken  and  executed  by  private 


k 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  35 

individuals,  at  their  own  instance,  who  furnished  their  own  arms,  con- 
veyances and  supplies,  bore  their  own  expenses,  achieved  the  victory, 
and.  then  quietly  retired  to  their  homes,  leaving  the  benefit  of  their 
work  to  all  Americans,  and  the  United  States,  their  debtors  for 
independence. 

From  the  men  who,  while  others  wavered  and  sought  reconciliation 
with  the  mother  country,  declared  independence  at  Charlotte,  and, 
when  all  others  despaired,  retrieved  at  Kings  Mountain  the  waning 
fortune  of  the  war,  came  the  first  settlers  of  Buncombe  County.  Some 
of  her  first  inhabitants  were  men  who  had  actually  taken  part  in  these 
famous  acts  of  patriotic  daring  and  sacrifice. 

When  the  war  of  the  Revolution  began,  the  white  occupation  of 
North  Carolina  had  extended  up  to  the  Blue  Ridge.  Here  for  a  time 
it  had  stopped;  and  until  the  close  of  that  great  struggle  no  effort 
appears  to  have  been  made  for  a  further  extension.  Elsewhere  the  war 
was  raging  and  across  the  mountains  much  of  the  country  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  Cherokee  Indians,  who,  always  hostile,  were  now  in 
alliance  with  the  British. 

"According  to  Adair,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  South  Carolina, 
and  who  wrote  of  the  four  principal  tribes  (Cherokees,  Shawnees, 
Chicasaws  and  Choctaws)  in  1775,"  says  Dr.  Hunter  in  his  Sketches 
of  Western  North  Carolina,  "the  Cherokees  derive  their  name  from 
Cheera,  or  fire,  which  is  their  reputed  lower  heaven,  and  hence  they 
call  their  magi,  Cheera-tah-gee,  men  possessed  of  the  divine  fire." 

CHEROKEES 

These  Cherokees,  when  they  first  became  known  to  the  whites, 
inhabited  the  western  part  of  North  Carolina,  the  eastern  part  of 
Tennessee,  the  northwestern  part  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  northern 
part  of  Georgia.  While  none  of  their  towns  appear  to  have  been  in 
the  valleys  of  the  Swannanoa  and  the  North  Carolina  part  of  the 
French  Broad,  or  among  the  neighboring  hills,  parties  of  Cherokees 
constantly  roamed  over  that  country,  and  at  times  encamped  there  for 
no  inconsiderable  while.  This  is  evident  from  the  great  number  of 
stone  arrow  heads,  many  of  them  defective  and  unfinished,  found  at 


t 


I 


36  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

certain  spots  in  these  valleys  and  among  these  hills.  Among  the  places 
of  encampment  of  which  these  relics  bear  evidence  may  be  mentioned 
the  hill  on  which  stands  the  residence  of  the  late  Col.  Stephen  Lee  in 
Chunn's  Cove,  and  the  little  valley  at  the  northeastern  corner  of  the 
Riverside  Cemetery  grounds  in  Asheville.  Nothing  but  a  residence  at 
such  places  for  some  time  of  a  considerable  number  of  Indians  would 
seem  sufficient  to  account  for  the  great  number  of  these  arrow  heads  at 
one  place,  and  the  fact  that  many  of  these  are  unfinished  and  defective 
would  tend  to  show  that  they  were  made  here,  since  no  conceivable 
reason  could  possibly  exist  for  carrying  unfinished  or  broken  arrow 
heads  in  quantities  about  the  country. 

There  have  also  been  found  great  numbers  of  Indian  relics,  con- 
sisting of  stone  hatchets  and  other  articles  of  stone,  in  the  bottoms  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Swannanoa.  Here,  too,  on  the  southern  bank  of  the 
river,  just  below  the  last  branch  above  its  mouth,  once  stood  an  Indian 
mound  built  apparently  to  correspond  with  a  natural  mound  at  the 
base  of  the  hill  to  the  south  about  two  hundred  yards  distant.  This 
artificial  mound  was  opened  years  ago  but  contained  nothing  except 
some  Indian  relics  of  the  common  t}^e. 

There  is  an  old  tradition  that  Asheville  stands  upon  the  site 
where,  years  before  the  white  man  came,  was  fought  a  great  battle 
between  two  tribes  of  the  aborigines,  probably  the  Cherokees  on  one 
side  and  the  Shawnees  or  the  Catawbas  who  were  inveterate  enemies 
and  often  at  war  with  the  Cherokees  on  the  other  side.  There  is  also 
a  tradition  that  these  lands  w^ere  for  a  long  w'hile  neutral  hunting 
grounds  of  these  two  tribes  of  Cherokees  and  Catawbas.  Probably,  in 
the  absence  of  something  to  verify  them,  not  much  weight  should  be 
attached  to  such  traditions.  Conjecture  is  always  busy  in  accounting 
for  physical  appearances  of  a  country,  and  what  to  one  age  is  surmise 
to  the  next  age  becomes  tradition. 

The  most  that  we  can  know  of  Buncombe  County  before  its  settle- 
ment by  the  Caucasians  is  only  what  can  be  derived  from  an  occasional 
glimpse  here  and  there  into  the  dark  and  mysterious  past.  Here  for 
many  years  had  roamed  these  Cherokees,  a  most  savage  and  powerful 
body  of  Indians. 


Chapter  II 
FRENCH  BROAD  RIVER  AND  OTHER  STREAMS 

THE  Indian  names  for  the  French  Broad  probably  differed 
among  the  different  tribes  and  possibly  even  in  a  single  tribe  for 
different  portions  of  the  stream.  Indians  did  not  reside  on  that 
river  after  it  became  known  to  white  men.  One  writer,  H.  E.  Colton, 
says  that  it  was  called  by  the  Indians,  Tocheste,  or  Racer.  Another 
writer,  Dr.  J.  G.  M.  Ramsey,  says  that  they  called  it  Agiqua  through- 
out its  length.  Another  writer,  C.  Lanman,  says  they  called  it  Pse-li-co. 
Two  other  writers,  W.  G.  Zeigler  and  B.  S.  Grosscup,  say  that  the 
Erati,  or  "Over-the-mountain"  Cherokees,  called  it  Agiqua,  and  the 
other  Cherokees,  known  as  Ottari,  called  it  Tocheeostee  below  Ashe- 
ville  and  Zillicoah  above  Asheville.  The  best  authority  on  the  subject, 
J.  Mooney,  says:  "The  Cherokees  have  no  name  for  the  river  as  a 
whole,  but  the  district  through  which  it  flows  about  Asheville  is  called 
by  them  Un-takiyastiyi,  'Where  they  race.'  " 

It  has  been  stated  that  its  English  name  of  French  Broad  is 
derived  from  a  hunter  named  French.  This  is  not  true.  To  the  white 
men  who  traded  with  the  Cherokees  and  passed  through  the  Holston 
Valley  in  what  is  now  East  Tennessee,  the  French  Broad  River  was  at 
tirst  known  as  Broad  River.  There  was,  however,  a  river  running  from 
the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean  which  rose  on  the  eastern  side  of 
that  mountain  range  nearly  opposite  the  head  of  the  French  Broad  on 
the  western  side  of  that  range,  while  the  French  Broad,  through  other 
streams,  ultimately  ran  into  the  Mississippi  River.  The  English 
o^^^led  the  land  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  French 
claimed  all  the  land  to  the  west  thereof  lying  on  tributary  waters  of 
the  Mississippi.  Hence,  in  order  to  distinguish  from  the  Broad  River 
belonging  to  the  English  on  the  east  this  Broad  River  claimed  by  the 
French  on  the  west,  the  latter  came  soon  to  be  called,  French  Broad. 
In  some  of  the  early  maps  it  is  named  Frank  River,  referring  to  the 
French.  The  name  of  French  Broad  was  given  to  it  before  1763,  when 
the  French  formally  relinquished  all  claim  to  the  country  through 
which  it  runs.  Plainly  this  name  was  bestowed  by  hunters  who  came 
from  the  east  of  the  mountains  where  they  were  acquainted  with  the 


3S  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Broad  River,  up  which  they  most  probably  travelled  through  the 
Hickorynut  Gap;  and  it  was  about  1760  to  1762  when  they  made  this 
addition  to  the  geographical  nomenclature  of  the  mountain  region. 

The  Indians  had  no  name  for  the  Swannanoa  River.  That  b} 
which  it  is  known  is  due  to  white  men.  Numeorus  origins  have  been 
given  as  those  of  the  word,  Swannanoa.  Sometimes  it  is  said  to  be  a 
Cherokee  word  meaning  "beautiful";  sometimes  a  Cherokee  word 
meaning  "nymph  of  beauty";  sometimes  a  Cherokee  attempt  to  imitate 
the  sound  made  by  the  wings  of  ravens  or  vultures  flying  down  the 
valley;  sometimes  a  Cherokee  attempt  to  imitate  the  call  of  the  owls 
seated  upon  trees  on  the  banks  of  the  stream;  and  .one  writer, 
J.  Mooney,  says  that  the  word  Swannanoa  is  derived,  by  contraction, 
from  two  Cherokee  words,  Suwali  Nun-nahi,  meaning  "Suwali  Trail," 
that,  is  trail  to  the  country  of  the  Suwali,  Suala,  or  Sara  Indians,  who 
lived  in  North  Carolina  at  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  that 
this  trail  ran  through  the  Swannanoa  Gap.  None  of  these  is  correct. 
"Swannanoa"  does  not  mean  "beautiful"  or  "nymph  of  beauty"  and 
does  not  resemble  the  sound  made  by  a  raven  or  vulture  in  flying  or 
any  call  of  any  North  Carolina  owl,  and  is  not  a  Cherokee  word  and 
could  not  be  produced  by  any  contraction  of  "Suwali'  Nun-nahi."  It 
is  merely  a  form  of  the  word  "Shawano,"  itself  a  common  form  of 
"Shawnee,"  the  name  of  a  well-known  tribe  of  Indians.  These 
Shawanoes  were  great  wanderers  and  their  villages  were  scattered 
from  Florida  to  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  each  village  usually  standing 
alone  in  the  country  of  some  other  Indian  tribe.  They  had  a  village 
in  Florida  or  Southern  Georgia  on  the  Swanee  or  Suanee  River,  which 
gets  its  name  from  them.  Another  of  their  towns  was  in  South  Caro- 
lina, a  few  miles  below  Augusta,  on  the  Savannah  River  which 
separates  South  Carolina  from  Georgia.  This  was  "Savaimah  Town," 
or,  as  it  was  afterwards  called,  "Savanna  Old  Town."  The  name  of 
"Savannah,"  given  to  that  river  and  town,  is  a  form  of  the  word 
"Shawano,"  and  those  Indians  were  known  to  the  early  white  settlers 
of  South  Carolina  as  "Savannas."  The  Shawanoes  had  a  settlement 
on  Cumberland  River  near  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Nashville, 
Tennessee,   when   the   French   first  visited  that   region.     From  those 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  39 

Indians  these  French,  who  were  the  first  white  men  who  went  there, 
called  the  Cumberland  River  the  "Chouanon,"  their  form  of  Shawano. 
Sewanee  in  the  sam.e  State  has  the  same  origin. 

These  Shawano  Indians  had  a  towTi  on  the  Swannanoa  River 
about  one-half  mile  above  its  mouth  and  on  its  southern  bank,  when 
the  white  hunters  began  to  make  excursions  into  those  mountain  lands. 

Between  1700  and  1750  all  the  Shawanoes  in  the  South  removed 
to  new  homes  north  of  the  Ohio  River  where  they  soon  became  very- 
troublesome  to  the  white  people  and  were  answerable  for  most  of  the 
massacres  in  that  region  perpetrated  in  that  day  by  Indians,  especially 
in  Kentucky,  it  being  their  boast  that  they  had  killed  more  white  men 
than  had  any  other  tribe  of  Indians.  Their  towTi  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Swannanoa  River  had  been  abandoned  before  1776,  but  its  site  was 
then  well  known  as  "Swannano."  At  that  time  the  river  seems  not  to 
have  been  named;  but  very  soon  afterwards  it  was  called,  for  the  town 
and  its  former  inhabitants,  Swannano,  or  later  Swannanoa  River.  One 
of  the  earliest  grants  for  land  on  its  banks  and  covering  both  sides 
and  including  the  site  of  the  present  Biltmore,  calls  the  stream  the 
"Savanna  River." 

Other  tributaries  of  the  French  Broad  or  streams  entering  it 
through  other  water  courses  derived  their  names  in  different  ways  and 
at  different  times. 

Davidson's  River  got  its  name  from  Benjamin  Davidson,  the  first 
settler  on  its  waters,  and  was  originally  called  "Ben  Davidson's  Creek." 

Mills  River  was  so  named  for  William  Mills,  whose  residence 
was  on  Green  River  in  Rutherford  County,  who  was  born  on  James 
River  in  Virginia,  November  10,  1746,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Ruther- 
ford County,  North  Carolina,  November  10,  1834. 

Little  River,  of  course,  was  named  for  its  size,  as  was  Green  River 
for  the  appearance  of  its  waters  in  the  gorges.  Muddy  Creek  got  its 
name  because  its  current  was  sluggish  and  waters  often  in  contrast  to 
one  of  its  tributaries,  Clear  Creek.  Muddy  Creek  at  one  time  was 
known  as  "Little  River."  Cane  Creek  was  famous  for  the  great 
quantity  of  reeds  or  canes  growing  on  its  borders,  but  became  more 
famous  because  on  its  waters  was  discovered,  at  what  is  now  "The 


40  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Meadows"  or  "Blake  Place,"  then  owned  by  William  Murray,  in  1802, 
the  celebrated  Catawba  grape,  the  only  native  American  wine  grape, 
a  variety  of  Fox  grape  (Vitis  lahrusca). 

The  very  peculiar  names  of  some  of  the  streams  which  run  into 
the  French  Broad  from  the  west  and  southwest  in  part  of  its  course 
must  have  caused  man}'  persons  to  inquire  as  to  the  origin  of  those 
names.  For  many  years  before  the  Revolutionary  War  and  for  some 
years  thereafter  the  dividing  line  between  the  western  parrs  of  North 
Carolina  and  South  Carolina  had  not  been  run  or  even  settled,  and  the 
disputed  territory  extended  from  some  miles  south  of  Greenville,  South 
Carolina,  northward  about  to  Swannanoa  River.  South  Carolina 
people  in  the  northern  part  of  that  State  hunted  much  over  this  dis- 
puted country,  in  which  no  white  men  then  lived.  About  1885, 
W^illiam  Camp,  a  very  old  and  intelligent  surveyor  of  northern 
Spartanburg  County  in  South  Carolina,  told  me  the  following  story: 

Before  the  Revolutionary  War  a  party  of  hunters  from  northern 
South  Carolina  visited  the  French  Broad  on  a  hunting  trip  and  crossed 
to  the  western  side  not  far  above  the  mouth  of  Swannanoa  River.  Pro- 
ceeding on  their  hunt,  they  camped  the  first  night  on  an  unnamed 
stream  that  ran  into  the  French  Broad,  and  there  they  had  hominy  for 
supper.  They  called  this  stream  "Hominy."  Next  night  they  camped 
on  the  banks  of  a  stream  of  which  none  of  them  had  ever  heard  and 
named  it  "Newfound."  Next  night  they  killed  some  wild  turkeys  and 
had  them  for  supper  at  their  camp  on  the  banks  of  another  stream, 
which,  for  that  reason,  they  named  "Turkey  Creek."  Still  further  on 
they  encamped  on  another  stream  and  cooked  mush  for  supper,  but  in 
dipping  water  to  use  in  making  the  mush  they  unknowingly  dipped  in 
the  water  some  sand  which  thus  got  into  the  mush.  They  called  this 
stream  "Sand>TOUsh." 

On  the  other  side  of  French  Broad  River  going  from  Swannanoa 
River  in  the  direction  of  Asheville  the  first  stream  of  considerable  size 
is  that  now  crossed  three  times  by  Southside  Avenue  and  called  some- 
times "Cripple  Creek."  It  was  known  as  the  Big  Branch  at  the  time 
when  Asheville's  site  was  chosen  for  that  of  the  county  town  of  Bun- 
combe in  1792.    Later  a  man  named  Gash  owned  land  on  that  branch, 


Asheville  a7id  Buncombe  County  41 

living  on  that  land  near  the  entrance  of  ]\IcDowell  Street  into  South 
Main  Street,  where  was  for  many  years  later  the  Gash  burying-ground. 
For  a  long  while  the  branch  was  called  Gash's  Creek.  Later  it 
acquired  the  name  of  "Town  Branch"  and  finally  the  senseless  appel- 
lation of  "Cripple  Creek." 

^  Through  the  northern  portion  of  Asheville  runs  a  branch  once 
known  as  "Nathan  Smith's  Creek."  About  1902  Mr.  H.  A.  Lindsey 
knocked  off  a  piece  from  an  outcropping  rock  of  gneiss  on  this  branch 
just  below  Magnolia  Street,  and  found  inside  several  small  nuggets  of 
coarse  gold.  I  have  one  of  these  mounted  as  a  stickpin.  Before  reach- 
ing the  river  this  branch  unites  with  another  which  runs  through 
Grove  Park  and  was  then  called  "Glenn's  Creek,"  and,  under  the  latter 
name,  enters  the  French  Broad  River  just  above  the  "Casket  Plant." 

Next  is  "Beaverdam  Creek,"  although  no  one  seems  to  know 
where  was  the  beavers'  dam  from  which  it  got  its  name.  Then,  after 
passing  "Davis's  Branch/'  named  for  John  Davis  who  lived  on  it  v 
opposite  Montrealla,  is  Reems's  Creek,  so  called  for  a  man  named 
Reams  whom  the  Indians  killed  on  that  stream  just  above  the  iron  ) 
bridge  across  it  south  of  Weaverville.  Then  comes  "Flat  Creek," 
whose  name  is  no  doubt  derived  from  the  character  of  the  land  on  its 
upper  waters.  "Ivy  River"  enters  French  Broad  River  about  a  mile 
above  Marshall  and  gets  its  name  undoubtedly  from  the  large  quantity 
of  ivy  (Kalmia)  which  grew  on  it,  as  further  on  "Laurel  River"  is 
named  for  its  laurel  (Rhododendron). 

Spring  Creek  was  so  named  from  the  fact  that  it  enters  French 
Broad  River  from  the  southwest  at  the  Warm  Springs.  Those  cele- 
brated springs  were  discovered  in  1778  by  Henry  Reynolds  and 
Thomas  Morgan,  sentries  on  the  outposts  of  Tennessee  settlements, 
who  were  in  pursuit  of  stolen  horses;  and,  for  a  long  time  after  North 
Carolina  had  ceded  to  the  United  States  the  territory  which  now  forms 
Tennessee,  the  people  of  the  ceded  lands  claimed  that  these  springs 
were  included  in  the  ceded  country.  In  fact,  the  first  grant  for  the 
land  where  these  springs  are  was  made  by  the  State  of  Tennessee. 
Until  1886  they  were  known  as  the  "Warm  Springs";  but  in  that  year 
the  Southern  Improvement  Company  bought  them  and  changed  the 
name  to  "Hot  Springs." 


42  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Several  streams  flow  into  Swannanoa  River  on  its  northern 
side,  eastward  from  Asheville.  These  are  :  first,  Ross's  Creek, 
named  for  a  man  called  Ross  who  Hved  probably  near  the  mouth 
of  the  creek,  which  was  afterwards  more  generally  known  as 
"Chunn's  Cove  Creek,''  because  a  place  on  its  upper  waters,  later  the 
residence  of  Colonel  Stephen  Lee  and  now  of  Messrs.  Armstrong,  but 
then  belonging  to  Colonel  Samuel  Chunn,  had  come  prominently  into 
public  notice  as  the  scene  of  a  famous  political  debate  in  1840  between 
John  M.  jMorehead  and  Romulus  M.  Saunders,  then  candidates  for 
Governor  of  North  Carolina;  second,  "Haw  Creek,"  called  originally 
"Whitson's  Creek"  from  William  Whitson  who  settled  the  place  at  its 
mouth,  now  the  home  of  Mr.  Frank  Reed,  and  next  called  T.  T. 
Patton's  Mill  Creek  when  Mr.  T.  T.  Patton  occupied  that  farm  and 
built  a  mill  on  the  stream,  and  still  later  known  as  "Haw  Creek,"  be- 
cause of  the  large  number  of  black  haw  {Viburnum)  bushes  which 
grew  on  its  banks;  third,  "Grassy  Branch,"  which  enters  Swannanoa 
River  at  Azalea;  fourth,  "Bull  Creek,"  named  from  the  fact  that  on 
that  creek  John  Rice,  its  first  settler,  killed  a  buffalo  bull,  the  last  wild 
buffalo  seen  in  Buncombe  County;  and  last  "Bee  Tree  Creek,"  at  the 
mouth  of  which  was  made  the  first  permanent  settlement  of  white 
people  in  that  part  of  North  Carolina  which  was  afterwards  Buncombe 
County,  although  probably  no  one  knows  exactly  on  what  spot  those 
settlers  found  the  bee-tree.  The  South  Fork  of  Swannanoa  River,  on 
which  are  now  the  towns  of  Black  Mountain,  Montreat,  and  Ridgecrest, 
is  often  called  Flat  Creek. 

MOUNTAINS 

To  one  who  approaches  it  from  the  east  the  Blue  Ridge  can  be 
seen  for  a  great  distance  and  consequently  looks  blue.  Hence  its  name 
must  have  been  given  by  persons  coming  to  it  from  that  direction. 

"  'Tis  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view, 
And  robes  the  mountain  in  its  azure  hue." 

The  Asheville  plateau  lies  in   that  range  of   mountains  called  the 
Appalachian  Mountains  or  Alleghany  Mountains,  of  which  the  Blue 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  43 

Ridge  is  the  eastern  portion.  This  system  extends  from  northern 
New  York  to  parts  of  Alabama,  and  is  sometimes  sixty  to  seventy-five 
miles  broad.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  in  North  Carolina,  where  the 
greater  part  of  this  table-land  lies,  the  streams  which  find  their  ways 
into  the  Mississippi  rise  in  the  lower  Blue  Ridge  on  the  eastern  side, 
and,  after  traversing  this  plateau  from  east  to  west,  break  through  the 
mountains  on  the  western  side,  thus  making  their  exit  through  a  range 
higher  than  that  in  which  they  have  their  origin. 

The  name  of  Appalachian  Mountains  or  Appalaches  is  said  to 
have  been  given  to  them  by  the  French  in  Florida  under  Laudonniere, 
''who  first  became  acquainted  with  them  at  the  southern  extremity, 
from  the  Indian  name  of  a  river  that  flows  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
in  Appalache  Bay;  but  the  English,  who  visited  them  principally  in 
their  more  northern  parts,  preserved  the  Indian  name  there  given  of 
Allaghanies,  which  is  supposed  to  mean  Endless ^  The  Appalachian 
Indians  lived  in  Florida,  far  south  of  these  mountains,  and,  no  doubt, 
it  was  from  their  account  that  the  French  first  learned  of  this  mountain 
range.  The  Alleghanies  were  a  geographical  group  of  Indians,  com- 
posed of  Delawares  and  Shawnees,  living  on  Alleghany  River  in 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York. 

The  name  of  Pisgah  for  the  most  prominent  mountain  in  Western 
North  Carolina  seems  to  have  been  given  about  1776,  but  by  whom  is 
not  known.  No  doubt  the  name  was  taken  from  the  mountain  of  that 
name  east  of  the  Dead  Sea  from  which  Moses  is  said  to  have  viewed 
"the  Promised  Land,"  and  was  given  to  the  North  Carolina  peak 
because  of  its  extensive  outlook.  There  was  a  celebrated  South  Caro- 
lina hunter  of  early  days  who  lived  in  the  northwestern  part  of  that 
State  whose  name  was  Busby.  Probably  from  him  was  called  the 
mountain  of  that  name  south  of  Asheville. 

The  Bearwallow,  Bald  Top,  Sugar  Loaf,  Pilot,  and  Point  Look- 
out, mountains  in  the  Hickorynut  Gap  region,  are  said  to  have  been 
so  named  by  William  Mills. 

Its  rugged  top  may  account  for  the  name  of  Craggy  and  the  dark 
colors  of  fir  and  spruce  may  account  for  the  name  of  the  Black  Moun- 
tain;   but  who  gave  these  names  is  unknown. 


44 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  Comity 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  45 

Lane's  Pinnacle  got  its  name  from  its  owner,  Charles  Lane,  who 
conducted  "forges"  on  Hominy  Creek  near  Luthers  and  on  Reems  Creek 
near  Weaverville,  digging  much  of  his  iron  ore  from  Aline  Hole  Gap, 
which  got  its  name  from  the  excavation  so  made  by  him  there.  He 
was  a  near  relative  of  General  Joseph  Lane,  candidate  for  vice- 
president  of  the  United  States  in  1860. 

Mr.  James  W.  Patton  owned  Beaucatcher  Mountain,  east  of 
Asheville,  and,  about  1850,  he  erected  on  it  a  summer-house  as  a  place 
of  resort.  Several  young  couples  did  their  courting  in  visiting  this 
summer-house;  and  that  fact  is  said  to  have  given  rise  to  its  name  of 
Beaucatcher.  During  the  war  on  the  South  it  was  fortified.  After 
that  war  Mr.  William  Hazard  built  a  residence  there  and  changed  the 
name  to  Beaumont.  The  late  A.  C.  Avery,  for  many  years  a  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina,  once  remarked  to  me  that  his 
engagement  to  his  first  wife  had  been  made  on  a  visit  to  this  summer- 
house  on  Beaucatcher.  This  lady  w^as  a  Miss  Morrison,  a  sister  of  the 
wife  of  Stonewall  Jackson  and  of  the  wife  of  the  Confederate  General 
D.  H.  Hill. 

Before  elks  were  driven  from  these  mountains  they  had  a  wallow 
on  a  Beaverdam  mountain,  which,  on  that  account,  w^as  known  as  the 
"Elk  Wallow"  and  then  as  "Elk  Mountain."  A  cheese  factory  on  the 
mountain  prospered  for  several  years  in  the  seventies  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  but  ceased  operations  some  time  later  than  1875.  The  last 
elk  seen  in  North  Carolina  was  killed  in  what  is  now  Mitchell  County 
by  William  Davenport,  except  one  killed  by  William  Mills  at  about  the 
same  time  six  miles  south  of  Asheville  on  Six-mile  Branch. 

Panthers  (Puma  or  Cougar)  disappeared  entirely  about  1835; 
Virginia  deer  about  1855;  buffalo  about  1786;  and  black  bears  and 
bay-lynxes  (wild  cats),  like  wolves,  have  become  so  scarce  that  it  is 
now  uncertain  whether  or  not  any  wolves  are  in  the  mountains  and 
certain  that  a  black  bear  or  a  bay-lynx  cannot  be  found  elsewhere. 

Gooch's  Peak,  commonly  called  Gouge  Mountain,  another  Beaver- 
dam peak,  was  named  for  a  man  called  Gooch. 

In  1767  Colonel  William  Tryon,  royal  governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina, caused  to  be  run  and  marked  a  line  between  the  lands  of  the 


46  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

white  settlers  and  the  lands  of  the  Cherokee  Indians,  extending  from 
Reedy  River  at  a  point  some  miles  south  of  the  present  City  of  Green- 
ville in  South  Carolina,  northward  fifty-three  miles  to  a  Spanish  oak 
on  what  is  now  Tryon  Mountain.  This  line  now,  for  most  of  its  length, 
divides  Greenville  and  Spartanburg  counties,  and  passes  less  than  a 
mile  east  of  the  modern  City  of  Try-on.  Colonel  Tryon  himself 
attended  and  directed  the  early  portion  of  this  survey  and  the  mountain 
on  which  it  terminated,  in  the  "White  Oak  Mountains,''  was  called  for 
him  "Tryon"  and  yet  bears  his  name,  and,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than 
a  century,  gave  its  name  to  the  City  of  Tryon. 

Several  Indian  names  are  said  to  have  been  used  for  French 
Broad  River.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  Pse-li-co,  Tocheste, 
Agiqua,  Tocheeostee,  Zillicoah,  Untakiyastiki,  Zeehleeka  (pronounced 
Tsay-lee-katy)  and  Esseewah;  but  an  Indian  name  often  applied  to 
only  part  of  a  river  and  this  was  the  case  with  French  Broad  River,  its 
Asheville  region  being  Untakiyastiki,  "where  they  race."  Other  Indian 
names  for  western  North  Carolina  localities  were:  Warwasseeta  for 
Pisgah  Ridge  or  Range,  Elseetoss  for  Pisgah  Mountain,  Sokassa  for 
Shaking  Bald  Mountain,  Salola  for  Sugar-loaf  Mountain,  Esseedaw 
for  Broad  River,  Sunnalee  for  Craggy  Mountain,  Seencyahs  for  Black 
Mountain,  Osteenoah  for  Cold  Mountain,  Judykullas  for  Balsam 
Mountains,  Chesseetoahs  for  Smoky  ]Mountains,  and  Chewassee  for 
Newfound  Mountains. 

On  the  headwaters  of  a  branch  which  enters  Haw  Creek  on  the 
north  in  the  farm  of  Mr.  A.  M.  Dillingham  is  a  cove  known  as  "Cisco." 
When  the  country  about  Asheville  was  first  settled  a  hunter  named 
Cisco  made  frequent  hunting  tours  into  these  mountains,  a  favorite 
hunting-ground  with  him  being  this  part  of  the  mountain  which  now 
bears  the  name  of  Piney  Knob,  east  of  Ross's  Creek.  On  one  occasion, 
after  Cisco  had  been  away  from  home  on  a  hunting  trip  for  more  than 
a  week,  his  friends  became  uneasy  and  went  in  search  of  him  to  the 
region  of  this  cove  where  they  found  his  body.  He  had  died,  appar- 
ently, from  some  natural  cause.  The  cove  received,  in  consequence  of 
this,  the  name  of  "Cisco,''  which  it  yet  bears. 


Chapter  III 

WHETHER  or  not  the  valley  of  the  French  Broad  near  Ashe- 
ville  was  ever,  as  has  been  supposed,  the  head  of  a  mountain 
lake,  whose  lowest  or  deepest  part  was  above  Mountain  Island 
and  Hot  Springs,  is  an  unsettled  question  for  the  geologists  Certain 
It  IS  that  the  French  Broad  has  cut  its  way  through  the  mountains  at 
Mountam  Island  as  is  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer  of  the 
mountams  at  that  place,  not  only  in  the  obvious  signs  that  still  remain 
to  mdicate  the  exact  spot  where  it  cut  through,  but  also  in  the  unques- 
tionable beds  of  that  river  in  the  days  gone  by  now  on  the  tops  of  the 
mountams  which  lie  along  its  western  banks  probably  200  feet  higher 
than  Its  present  bed,  and  only  a  short  distance  above  the  Mountain 
Island.  These  old  beds  cross  the  channel  of  the  present  stream  below 
the  Palisades  at  Stackhouse's  and  above  the  Mountain  Island.  They 
contain  many  stones  worn  smooth  and  rounded  by  the  abrasions  to 
which  their  position  in  the  river  bed  subjected  them.  The  stones  so 
common  and  peculiar  which  lie  near  the  surface  on  the  Battery  Park 
hill  and  appear  to  be  of  water  formation  are  also  worthy  of  notice  in 
this  connection. 

Why  may  not  this  be  the  famous  lake  mentioned  by  Lederer  in  his 
account  of  his  exploration  into  North  Carolina  westward  in  1669-70 
which  historians  have  found  it  so  hard  to  account  for.  It  certainly 
fills  the  description  and  lies  near  the  place  which  he  describes  when  he 
says  in  regard  to  his  visit  to  the  Sara:. 

"This  nation  is  subject  to  a  neighbor  king  residing  upon  the  bank 
of  a  great  lake  called  Ushery,  environed  on  all  sides  with  mountains 
and  Wisacky  marsh. 

''The  sixth  and  twentieth  of  June,  having  crossed  a  fresh  river 
which  runs  into  the  lake  of  Ushery,  I  came  to  the  town,  which  was 
more  populous  than  any  I  had  seen  before  in  my  march.  The  king 
dwells  some  three  miles  from  it,  and  therefore  I  had  no  opportunity  of 
seeing  him  the  two  nights  which  I  stayed  there.  This  prince,  though 
his  dominions  are  large  and  populous,  is  in  continual  fear  of  the 
Oustack  Indians,  seated  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake,  a  people  so 


48  AsheviUe  and  Biincomhe  County 

addicted  to  arms  that  even  their  women  come  into  the  field  and  shoot 
arrows  off  their  husbands"  shoulders,  who  shield  them  with  leathern 
targets. 

"The  water  of  Ushery  Lake  seemed  to  my  taste  a  little  brackish, 
which  I  rather  impute  to  some  mineral  waters  which  flow  into  it,  than 
to  any  saltness  it  can  take  from  the  sea,  which  we  may  reasonably  sup- 
pose is  a  great  way  from  it.  Many  pleasant  rivulets  fall  into  it,  and  it 
is  stored  with  great  plenty  of  excellent  fish.  I  judged  it  to  be  about 
ten  leagues  broad,  for  were  not  the  other  shore  very  high  it  could  not 
be  discerned  from  Ushery,  How  far  this  lake  tends  westwardly,  or 
where  it  ends,  I  could  neither  learn  nor  guess."  (2  Hawks  History  of 
Nortli  Carolina,  page  49.) 

It  is  impossible  to  reconcile  this  description,  as  has  been  attempted 
to  be  done,  with  a  flood  in  the  Catawba  River.  Moreover,  Lederer  had 
already  informed  us  that,  *T  have  heard  several  Indians  testify  that 
the  nation  of  Rickohockans,  who  dwelt  not  far  to  the  westward  of  the 
Apalataean  Mountains,  are  seated  upon  a  land,  as  they  term  it,  of  great 
waves — by  which  I  suppose  they  mean  the  seashore.'' 

Now  the  Rickohockans  were  the  Cherokees.  (]Mooney  Siouan 
Tribes  of  the  East,  page  54.) 

It  is  most  probable  that  De  Soto,  on  the  great  expedition  in  which 
he  discovered  the  Mississippi  River,  passed  through  Western  North 
Carolina  in  1540.  This  famous  general  and  discoverer  after  he  had 
commanded  a  squadron  of  horse  under  Pizarro  in  the  conquest  of  Peru 
with  which  he  captured  the  Inca  Atahualpa  and  put  his  army  to  flight, 
and  after  he  had  acquired  large  wealth  in  Peru,  was  made  governor  of 
Cuba.  Having  the  permission  of  the  great  emperor  Charles  V.,  he  set 
out  from  Havana  on  May  12  1539,  with  an  army  of  nearly  fifteen 
hundred  men,  on  an  expedition  of  conquest  and  discovery  upon  the 
continent  of  North  America.  In  fifteen  days  he  landed  on  the  western 
coast  of  Florida  at  Espiritu  Santo  Bay.  From  this  place  he  marched 
northward  until  he  came  to  Cofachiqui,  identified  as  Silver  Bluff  on 
the  Savannah  River  in  Barnwell  County,  South  Carolina.  From  this 
place  he  resumed  his  march  on  May  3,  1540,  and  continuing  north- 
ward for  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  he  reached  the  Indian 


AsheviUe  and  Buncombe  County  49 

province  of  Xual.    or  Choualla.     This  Xuala  of  the  Spaniards  is  the 
Suala  of  Lederer,  Suali  of  the  Cherokees,  and  Suara  and  Cheraw  of 
later  writers.     "From  the  narrative  of  Garcilaso  the  Sara  must  then 
have  lived  m  the  piedmont  region  about  the  present  line  between  South 
Carolina  and  North  Carolina,  southeast  of  AsheviUe.    On  the  De  I'IsIe 
map    aiouala    is    marked    west   of   the    upper   Santee    (Catawba). 
Garcilaso  in  1 540  describes  the  village  of  Xuala  as  situated 
on  the  slope  of  a  ridge  in  a  pleasant  hilly  region,  rich  in  corn  and  all 
the  oAer  vegetables  of  the  country.    In  front  of  the  village  ran  a  stream 
which  formed   the  boundary  between  the  Xuala  tribe  and  that  of 
Cofachiqui.      This   may   have   been   either   the   Broad   River   or   the 
1  acolet.       (Mooney's  Siouan  Tribes  of  the  East,  page  57  )     Xuala 
v.-as  situated  upon  the  skirts  of  a  mountain  and  the  stream  which 
passed  It  was  a  small  one.     At  this  place  De  Soto  turned  westward 
aiming  for  the  province  of  Guaxule  or  Guachule.     "The  first  day's 
journey   was   through   a   country  covered   with    fields   of   maize   of 
luxuriant  growth.     *     *     *     During  the  next  five  days  they  trav- 
ersed a  Cham  of  easy  mountains,  covered  with  oak  and  mulberry  trees 
«.th  intervening  valleys,  rich  in  pasturage  and  irrigated  by  clear  and 
rapid  streams     These  mountains  were  twenty  leagues  across  and  quite 
uninhabited^    "The  Portuguese  Gentleman  says  the  mountains  were 
very  bad.     Herrera  says  that  though  they  were  not  disagreeable,  the 
mountains  were  twenty  leagues  across  and  the  army  was  five  da;s  in 

Soto  entered  the  province  of  Guaxule  or  Guachule.    He  was  received 

^IrtrTT^  *°"  ""'  *^  ^^"'l"^  ^'"'^  ~"'i"^'^d  to  his 
in^  •  i  '!  ""''^  ''°"'''-  ^"^'^  ^=^^  °"  ^^^-^-1  ^-^-ll  streams 
nsing  m  the  adjacent  mountains  that  "soon  mingled  their  waters  and 
formed  a  grand  and  powerful  river,  along  which  the  army  resumed 
Aeir  journey 'until  they  came  to  a  village  at  the  end  of  a  long  island 
where  the  Indians  showed  them  "how  they  obtained  pearls  from  the 
oysters  taken  m  the  river."  This  was  unquestionably  the  Tennessee 
River   which  IS  formed  largely  by  streams  taking  their  rise  in  these 

Zji       T,^  "t'  ''"''  °'  merchantable  character  in  considerable 
quantities.    The  subsequent  history  of  De  Soto  is  well  known ;  that  he 


50  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

proceeded  on  his  journey,  discovered  the  Mississippi  River  above  its 
mouth,  crossed  it,  found  the  Hot  Springs  in  Arkansas,  returned  south- 
ward, reached  again  the  Mississippi,  died  in  1542  on  its  banks  and 
was  buried  in  its  bed. 

Now  it  would  be  impossible  for  an  army  on  the  Broad  or  Pacolet 
River  within  one  day's  march  of  the  mountains  to  march  westward  for 
six  days,  five  of  which  was  through  mountains,  and  reach  the  sources 
of  the  Tennessee  or  any  other  river,  without  passing  through  Western 
North  Carolina. 


Chapter  IV 
EXPLORATIONS 

IN   1670,  John  Lederer,  a  German,  under  the  patronage  of  Sir 
William    Berkeley,    Governor    of    Virginia,    made    his    famous 
journey  into  Carolina.     He  arrived  among  the  Sara  or  Suala 
Indians,  and  from  that  place  took  a  southwest  course.    This  probably 
carried  him  into  northern  South  Carolina,  but  might  have  carried  him 
up  the  Hickorynut  Gorge. 

In  1673,  James  Needham  and  Gabriel  Arthur  were  sent  out  with*! 
eight  Indians  and  four  horses  by  Colonel  Abraham  Wood  from  the  / 
place  of  the  last-named  gentleman,  a  little  below  the  Falls  of  Appo-  n 
mattox  River  in  Virginia,  where  now  stands  the  City  of  PetersburgJ  I 
The  purpose  of  the  expedition  was  to  explore  the  country  of  the     \ 
Tomahitan  Indians,  now  identified  with  the  Cherokees.    Needham  and      I 
his  party  proceeded  west  and  southwest  on  a  nine  days'  journey  to  an      ] 
Indian  town  called  Sitteree.     From  that  place  they  entered  the  moun-       ( 
tains,  and,  after  passing  five  rivers  running  toward  the  west  and  travel- 
ling fifteen  days  from  Sitteree,  they  reached  the  Tomahitan  town, 
situated  on  the  sixth  river,  which  ran  more  to  the  west  and  was  almost 
certainly  the  Little  Tennessee.     From  this  town  it  was  eight  days' 
journey  to  the  Spanish  settlement  in  Florida.     The  expedition  started 
on  May  17,  1673,  and  James  Needham  on  his  return  reached  Wood's 
place   September    10,    1673,  having  left   Gabriel   Arthur   among  the 
Tomahitans  until  he  could  get  back,  in  order  to  learn  the  Indian  lan- 
guage.    On  September  20,  1673,  James  Needham  set  out  on  his  return 
to    the    Tomahitan    town,    but    was    murdered    on    the    way    by    an 
Occoneechee  Indian  named  John.     Gabriel  Arthur  did  not  get  back  to 
Wood's  place  until  June  18,  1674. 

This  seems  to  have  been  the  first  trip  of  an  Englishman  to  the 
Cherokee  country.  Its  ultimate  purpose  was  to  establish  a  trade  with 
the  Indians  of  that  land.  Such  was  its  result.  It  is  very  probable  that 
in  this  expedition  James  Needham  and  Gabriel  Arthur  passed  from 
the  country  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge  into  the  region  of  the  moun- 
tains where  the  rivers  ran  to  the  west  and  crossed  through  the  Hickory- 


52  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

nut  Gorge  or  the  Swannanoa  Gap;  and,  since  no  mention  is  made  of 
passing  westwardly  down  a  stream  as  soon  as  they  had  passed  the  crest 
of  the  first  high  ridge,  it  is  more  likely  than  not  that  the  road  lay 
through  the  Hickorynut  Gorge,  and  that  Sitteree  and  Sara  were  the 
same  place. 

CHEROKEES 

The  mouth  of  the  Swannanoa  and  the  country  surrounding  it  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a  well-known  spot  even  before  its  settlement  by  the 
Europeans. 

The  Cherokees,  as  has  been  stated,  were  always  inimical  to  the 
whites,  and  during  their  occupation  of  this  country  frequently  de- 
scended from  their  mountain  homes  upon  the  settlers  in  Georgia,  South 
Carolina,  North  Carolina,  Virginia  and  what  is  now  the  State  of 
Tennessee.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  British, 
through  their  agents,  the  principals  of  whom  were  John  Stuart  and 
Alexander  Cammeron,  succeeded  in  inducing  these  Indians  to  enter 
into  an  alliance  with  themselves.  Emboldened  by  this  alliance  and  the 
unsettled  state  of  affairs  among  the  colonists,  the  Cherokees  became 
peculiarly  troublesome  to  the  white  settlers  and  their  raids  were  further 
and  in  greater  number  and  more  disastrous  than  ever  before.  It  became 
necessary  to  strike  a  blow  against  them  which  would  deter  them  from 
the  repetition  of  these  outrages. 

In  the  execution  of  a  plot  formed  betw^een  them  and  their  foreign 
allies,  the  Cherokees,  on  the  very  day  the  British  fleet  attacked  Charles- 
ton, made  a  daring  incursion  upon  the  frontier  settlements  of  South 
Carolina.  This  gave  rise  to  a  concerted  attempt,  though  not  executed 
entirely  in  co-operation,  on  the  part  of  the  surrounding  States  to  sub- 
jugate these  troublesome  savages.  Georgia  sent  an  expedition  north- 
ward against  them,  which  seems  to  have  effected  something  but  not 
much.  The  Virginia  expedition  under  Col.  William  Christian,  which 
passed  through  East  Tennessee,  was  somewhat  more  successful;  but 
the  principal  of  these  expeditions  was  led  by  General  Griffith  Ruther- 
ford, of  North  Carolina,  who  in  September,  1776  (Colonial  Records  of 
North  Carolina,  vol.  10,  p.  788),  with  an  army  of  2,400  men,  marched 
across  the  Blue  Ridge  at  Swannanoa  Gap,  leaving  the  head  of  the 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  53 

Catawba  on  the  first  day  of  September,  passed  down  the  Swannanoa 
River  to  within  a  short  distance  of  its  mouth,  and  thence  up  the  French 
Broad  River  which  he  crossed  at  a  ford  about  two  miles  above  the 
Swannanoa,  still  called  in  commemoration  of  that  event,  the  War  Ford; 
then  passed  up  the  valley  of  the  Hominy,  crossing  that  stream  twice, 
and  crossed  Pigeon  River  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  East  Fork. 
Thence  passing  through  the  mountains  to  Richland  Creek  a  little  above 
the  present  town  of  Waynesville,  he  ascended  that  creek  and  marched 
on  to  the  Tuckaseigee  River.  Here  he  crossed  at  an  Indian  town.  Still 
proceeding,  he  crossed  the  Cowee  Mountain,  where  he  had  a  slight 
skirmish  with  the  Indians,  and  passed  on  to  within  thirty  miles  of  the 
middle  settlements  of  the  Cherokees  on  the  Tennessee  River. 

Thence  he  sent  out  a  detachment  of  one  thousand  men  to  proceed 
by  forced  marches  so  as  to  surprise  the  enemy.  On  their  way  this 
detachment  was  attacked  by  about  thirty  Indians  who  fired  and  imme- 
diately fled,  having  wounded  one  man  in  the  foot.  This  body  then 
passed  on  to  the  To\vns,  which  had  been  evacuated  before  their  arrival, 
and  destroyed  them.  From  here  General  Rutherford  went  with  nine 
hundred  men,  leaving  the  main  body  and  taking  ten  days'  provisions, 
against  the  Valley  Settlements,  or  Middle  Towns,  or  Valley  Towns. 
He  was,  however,  without  an  intelligent  guide  and  was  so  much  em- 
barrassed by  passing  the  mountains  at  an  unaccustomed  place  that  he 
failed  to  find  five  hundred  Indians  w^ho  had  been  lying  in  ambush  at 
the  common  crossing  place  for  several  days.  He  destroyed  the  greater 
part  of  the  Valley  Towns,  killed  twelve  Indians,  took  nine  of  them 
and  made  prisoners  seven  w^hite  men  from  whom  he  got  four  negroes, 
a  considerable  quantity  of  leather,  one  hundred  pounds  of  gunpowder 
and  two  thousand  pounds  of  lead,  estimated  to  be  worth  two  thousand 
five  hundred  pounds,  which  they  were  conveying  to  Mobile. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Little  Tennessee  River  he  burned  the  Indian 
towns  of  Watauga,  Estotoa  and  Ellojay.  Here  in  the  14th  of  Septem- 
ber Colonel  Williamson  who,  in  command  of  the  South  Carolina  ex- 
pedition, aided  by  the  Catawba  Indians,  had  crossed  the  mountains 
near  the  sources  of  the  Tennessee  at  the  common  crossing  place  two 
days  after  Rutherford  and,  falling  into  the  ambuscade  above  mentioned. 


54  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

had  been  attacked  in  a  narrow  pass  near  the  present  town  of  Franklin 
by  the  Indians  in  ambush  who  killed  twelve  of  his  men  and  wounded 
twenty  more,  but  had  put  the  Indians  to  flight,  joined  General  Ruther- 
ford on  September  14,  1776,  after  the  latter  had  partly  destroyed  the 
Valley  Towns. 

Another  expedition  penetrated  into  the  present  State  of  Tennessee, 
burning  Indian  villages,  destroying  their  crops  and  driving  them  from 
their  homes,  until  so  effectual  a  blow  had  been  stricken,  and  so  com- 
pletely had  the  Indians  been  subdued  that  never  afterwards  did  they 
in  any  considerable  numbers  or  as  an  organized  body  venture  to  give 
trouble  to  the  white  settlers.  This  expedition  destroyed  thirty  or  forty 
Indian  towns  and  in  his  skirmishes  at  Valleytown,  Ellojay  and  near 
Franklin,  General  Rutherford  lost  only  three  men.  (See  Colonial 
Records  of  North  Carolina,  vol.  10,  p.  860.) 

He  then  returned  by  the  same  route,  which  for  many  years  after 
bore  the  name  of  "Rutherford's  Trace." 

The  chaplain  of  this  expedition  was  Rev.  James  Hall,  D.D.,  a 
Presbyterian  preacher  in  charge  of  the  churches  of  Statesville  (then 
called  Fourth  Creek),  Concord  and  Bethany,  and  whose  work  extended 
from  the  South  Yadkin  to  the  Catawba.  Upon  Rutherford's  call  for 
troops  this  gentleman  volunteered  his  services,  and  acted  throughout 
the  campaign.  Capt.  Chas.  Polk,  who  commanded  a  company  in  this 
expedition,  says  in  his  diary  that: 

"On  Thursday  the  12th  September  we  marched  down  the  river 
three  miles  to  Cow^ee  town  and  encamped.  On  this  day  there  was  a 
party  of  men  sent  down  this  river  (Nuckessey)  ten  miles  to  cut  down 
the  corn;  the  Indians  fired  on  them  as  they  were  cutting  the  corn,  and 
killed  Hancock  Polk,  of  Col.  Beekman's  regiment'';  and  again  on 
Saturday  the  14th,  "we  marched  to  Nuckessey  town,  six  miles  higher 
up  the  river  and  encamped.  On  Sunday  the  15th,  one  of  Capt.  Irwin's 
men  was  buried  in  Nuckessey  Town.  On  Monday  the  16th,  we 
marched  five  miles,  this  day  with  a  detachment  of  twelve  hundred 
men,  for  the  Valley  Town,  and  encamped  on  the  waters  of  Tennessee 
River.  Mr.  Hall  preached  a  sermon  last  Sunday;  in  time  of  sermon 
the  Express  we  sent  to  the  South  army  returned  home.     On  Tuesday 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  55 

the  17th,  we  marched  six  miles,  and  arrived  at  a  town  called  Nowee, 
about  twelve  o'clock;  three  guns  were  fired  and  Robert  Harris,  of 
Mecklenburg  was  killed  by  the  Indians,  said  Harris  being  in  the  rear 
of  the  army.  We  marched  one  mile  from  Nowee,  and  encamped  on 
side  of  a  steep  mountain  without  any  fire." 

Probably  this  funeral  discourse  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hall  was  the  first 
sermon  ever  preached  in  the  mountains  of  Western  North  Carolina. 
For  an  extended  biographical  notice  of  this  gentleman  see  Foote's 
Sketches  of  North  Carolina,  page  315. 

Of  General  Griffith  Rutherford,  the  commander  of  this  expedi- 
tion, a  few  words  would  not  be  out  of  place  here.  But  little  is  known 
of  his  early  history.  He  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  brave  and  patriotic, 
but  "uncultivated  in  mind  or  manners."  At  the  beginning  of  the  war 
he  resided  in  the  Locke  settlement,  west  of  Salisbury.  In  1775  he 
represented  Rowan  County  at  Newbern,  and  in  1776  was  a  member 
from  that  county  of  the  Provincial  Congress  which  met  at  Halifax 
on  the  4th  of  April,  1776.  At  this  Congress  on  the  22d  day  of  April, 
1776,  he  was  created  Brigadier  General  for  the  Salisbury  District. 
After  this  expedition  he  commanded  a  brigade  of  the  American  army 
in  the  ill-fated  battle  of  Camden,  fought  in  August,  1780,  at  which  he 
was  taken  prisoner.  After  his  capture  his  place  was  taken  by  General 
William  Davidson,  who  soon  after  was  killed  at  Cowan's  Ford.  When 
exchanged  General  Rutherford  again  took  the  field,  and  commanded 
at  Wilmington  when  that  to\^^l  was  evacuated  by  the  British.  In  1786 
he  represented  Rowan  County  in  the  Senate  of  North  Carolina,  but 
soon  afterwards  removed  to  Tennessee.  Here,  on  September  6,  1794, 
he  was  appointed  president  of  the  Legislative  Council.  He  died  in 
Tennessee  near  the  beginning  of  the  last  century.  Both  that  State  and 
North  Carolina  have  commemorated  his  services  by  each  giving  his 
name  to  one  of  their  counties.  The  following  letter  from  the  distin- 
guished general  would  seem  to  verify  one  of  the  statements  just  made 
in  regard  to  him : 

"North  Carolina,  Rowan  County. 

'    "Whereas,  a  certan  John  Auston,  Late  of  Tryon  County, 
is  charged  of  being  an  Enomy  To  Ammerican  Liberty  &  also 


56  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Refuses  to  take  the  oath  Proscribed  by  the  Counsel  of  Safety 
of  this  Provance, 

"These  are  therefore  to  Command  You  to  Take  the  sd. 
Auston  Into  youre  Possession  &  him  safely  keep  in  youre 
Gole  Till  furder  Orders. 

"Given  Under  my  hand  this  13  Day  of  July,  1776. 

"Griffith  Rutherford. 
"To  the  Color  of  the  Gole  of  Salisbury  District." 

Apparently  the  brave  soldier  must  have  been  as  great  a  terror  to 
the  school  teachers  as  he  was  to  the  Indians,  whom  in  another  letter 
he  characterizes  as  a  "barbarious  Nation  of  Savages,"  and  was  no 
mean  rival  of  the  late  Josh  Billings.  So  it  was,  however,  with  many 
of  these  heroes  of  American  Independence.  They  were  more  skilled  in 
doing  great  deeds  than  in  telling  of  them,  in  execution  than  narration. 

From  a  report  of  William  Aloore,  one  of  the  captains  of  this  ex- 
pedition, to  General  Rutherford,  dated  on  November  17,  1776,  we  learn 
that  his  company,  which  seems  to  have  acted  independently  and  in  a 
second  expedition,  started  out  on  October  19,  1776,  and  marched  over 
the  mountains  to  Swannanoa,  which  they  passed  near  the  French 
Broad  River,  and  then  after  crossing  the  latter  marched  up  Hominy 
Creek  and  passed  on  to  Richland  Creek,  thence  to  the  Tuckaseigee 
River,  "through  a  Very  Mountainous  bad  way."  This  river  they 
crossed,  and  coming  to  "a  Very  plain  path,  Very  much  used  by  Indians, 
Driving  in  from  the  Middle  Settlement  to  the  Aforesaid  Town"  (the 
TowTi  of  Too  Cowee),  they  continued  their  march  along  this  path  about 
two  miles,  when  they  came  to  an  Indian  town  which  they  attacked. 
This  town  is  said  to  have  occupied  the  site  of  the  residence  of  the  late 
Colonel  William  H.  Thomas  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Tuckaseigee. 
The  Indians  fled.  After  plundering  the  town  Capt.  Moore  and  his 
party  set  fire  to  its  25  houses,  and  marched  on  further  down  the  river 
for  a  short  distance. 

On  this  expedition  "between  Swannanoa  and  French  Broad 
River,"  they  came  upon  signs  of  five  or  six  Indians.  Thirteen  men 
set  out  by  moonlight  in  pursuit  of  these,  and  followed  them  for  eight 
miles,  but  were  unable  to  overtake  them  that  night,  "Untill  Day-light 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  57 

appeared  when  they  Discovered  upon  the  frost  that  One  Indian  had 
gone  Along  the  Road!    they  pursued  Very  Briskly  about  five  miles     1 
further  and  came  up  with  the  sd.  Indian,  Killed  and  Scalped  him."  ' 

At  the  Indian  town  which  they  burned  it  was  discovered  that  all 
but  two  of  the  inhabitants  had  fled.  These  two  endeavored  to  make 
their  escape,  but,  according  to  Capt.  Moore,  "we  pursued  to  the  Bank 
&  as  they  were  Rising  on  the  Bank  on  the  Other  Side  we  fired  upon 
them  and  Shot  one  of  them  Down  &  the  Other  getting  out  of  reach  of 
our  shot  &  making  over  to  the  Mountain.  Some  of  our  men  Crossed 
the  river  on  foot  &  pursued  &  some  went  to  the  ford  &  Crossed  on 
horse  &  headed  him.  Killed  &  Scalped  him  with  other."  1 

At  the  end  of  their  expedition  they  took  three  prisoners  and  recov- 
ered some  horses  belonging  to  the  whites.     These  horses  they  returned 
to  their  owners.    Here  they  were  forced  by  lack  of  provisions  to  begin 
their  return,  and  the  captain  informs  us:    "That  night  w^e  lay  upon  a      i 
prodigious  Mountain  where  we  had  a  Severe  Shock  of  an  Earthquake    / 
which  surprised  our  men  very  much.    Then  we  steered  our  course  about 
East  &  So.  E.  two  days  thru  Prodigious  Mountains  which  were  almost 
Impassable,  and  struck  the  road  in  Richland  Creek  Mountain.     From 
thence  we  marched  to  Pidgeon  river.  Where  we  Vandued  off  all  Our 
Plunder.    Then  there  arose  a  Dispute  Between  me  &  the  whole  Body, 
Officers  &  all,   concerning  selling  off  the  Prisoners  for  Slaves.     I 
allowed  that  it  was  our  Duty  to  guard  them  to  prison  or  some  place  of 
Safe  Custody  till  we  got  the  approbation  of  the  Congress  Whether  they 
should  be  sold  Slaves  or  not,  and  the  Greater  part  swore  Bloodily  that 
if  they  were  not  sold  for  Slaves  upon  the  spot  they  would  Kill  &  Scalp 
them  Immediately,  upon  which  I  was  obliged  to  give  way.    Then  the 
3  prisoners  was  sold  for  242  pounds.     The  Whole  plunder  we  got 
mcluding  the  Prisoners  Amounted  Above  1,100  pounds." 

The  captain  concludes  his  somewhat  remarkable  report  to  his 
superiors  in  the  following  original  manner: 

''Dear  Sir,  I  have  one  thing  to  remark,  which  is  this, 

that  where  there  is  separate  Companys  United  into  one  Body 

.    without  a  head  Commander  of  the  whole  I  shall  never  Em- 


58  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

bark  in  such  an  Expedition  Hereafter;  for  where  every 
Officer  is  a  Commander  there  is  no  commander.  No  more 
at  present,  but  Wishing  you,  sir,  with  all  true  friends  too 
Liberty  all  Happiness,  I  am,  sir,  Yours,  &c. 

"William  Moore. 
"On  the  service  of  the  United  Colonies." 

The  prodigious  mountain  here  mentioned  was  the  Balsam 
Mountains. 

It  was  while  Captain  William  Moore's  company  was  encamped  on 
this  expedition  in  a  bend  of  Hominy  Creek  near  the  Sulphur  Spring 
and  not  far  from  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  present  City  of  Ashe- 
ville and  there  awaiting  the  arrival  of  Captain  Harden's  troops  from 
Tryon  County,  who  came  through  Hickorynut  Gap,  that,  as  is  said, 
some  of  ^Moore's  men,  ignorant  of  the  presence  in  the  neighborhood  of 
any  human  being  not  connected  with  the  expedition,  put  some  poison 
into  a  near-by  rivulet  tributary  to  Caney  Branch  in  order  to  destroy 
wolves  known  to  be  prowling  about  the  camp,  and  thus  unintentionally 
killed  a  young  Cherokee  who  was  lurking  there  as  a  spy  on  the  move- 
ments of  the  white  men  and  who  chanced  to  drink  from  the  rivulet 
where  the  poison  was  and  who  thereafter,  in  the  agonies  of  death, 
pronounced  a  curse  upon  the  place.  Many  misfortunes  have  attended 
the  owners  of  that  land  where  the  Indian  was  poisoned  and  buried  in  a 
grave  yet  to  be  seen;  and  it  is  a  common  belief  in  that  vicinity  that 
these  misfortunes  are  to  be  attributed  to  this  curse  of  the  young 
Cherokee. 

Ramsey  in  his  Annals  of  Tennessee,  in  speaking  of  an  expedition 
from  the  Watauga  settlement  under  Col.  John  Sevier  in  1781  against 
the  Indians  of  the  town  of  Tuckasejah  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Little 
Tennessee  and  the  adjacent  towns,  tells  us  that  in  this  expedition  fifty 
warriors  were  slain,  fifty  women  and  children  taken  prisoners,  and 
fifteen  or  twenty  Indian  towns  with  their  granaries  of  corn  were  burned, 
with  a  loss  to  the  whites  of  one  man  killed  and  one  wounded.  "The 
command,"  he  says,  "went  up  Cane  Creek  and  Crossed  Ivy  and  Swan- 
nanoa";    and  that  "This  campaign  lasted  twenty-nine  days  and  was 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  59 

carried  on  over  a  mountainous  section  of  country  never  before  traveled 
by  any  of  the  settlers  and  scarcely  ever  passed  through  even  by  traders 
and  hunters." 

Of  an  expedition  of  a  later  date  carried  on  by  Tennesseeans 
against  the  Indians  of  Western  North  Carolina,  this  writer  quotes  the 
pilot  of  the  expedition  as  saying  that:  "The  next  morning  we  started 
and  in  a  few  days  were  at  Coosawatee,  where  an  exchange  of  prisoners 
was  made  instead  of  at  Swannanoa,  as  at  first  proposed.  This  was 
about  the  20th  of  April,  1789." 

This  same  writer  speaking  of  an  expedition  under  the  command  of 
General  Sevier  which  set  out  against  the  Indians  under  an  order  from 
Governor  Blount  of  Tennessee  (then  a  territory  not  so  named),  made 
on  September  27,  1793,  says:  "Indians  were  seen  at  the  Warm 
Springs  and  at  the  plantation  of  Charles  Robertson  on  Meadow  Creek, 
probably  watching  the  motions  of  the  guard  who  were  stationed  for  the 
protection  of  the  frontier  on  French  Broad.  These  guards  were  sta- 
tined  in  four  blockhouses— at  Hough's,  at  the  Burnt  Canebrake,  at  the 
Painted  Rock  and  at  the  Warm  Springs,  and  scouted  regularly  between 
these  blockhouses,  and  up  to  Big  Laurel,  where  they  met  the  Buncombe 
scout.'* 

There  is  a  tradition  of  yet  another  expedition  under  the  conduct 
of  Sevier  which  passed  up  the  French  Broad  River  to  the  mouth  of 
New  Found  Creek,  and  thence  up  that  creek  and  on  west  and  returned 
dowTi  the  valley  of  the  Hominy.    Probably  it  was  one  of  the  same. 

SETTLEMENTS 

Shortly  after  the  conclusion  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  in  1784, 
or  1785,  settlers  from  the  headwaters  of  the  Catawba  and  the  adjacent 
country,  whose  frontier  establishment  was  the  blockhouse  at  Old  Fort, 
began  to  cross  the  mountains  into  the  Swannanoa  valley.  Among  the 
first  of  these  was  Samuel  Davidson,  who  came  in  with  his  wife  and 
infant  child  and  one  female  negro  slave  and  settled  upon  Christian 
Creek  of  the  Swannanoa,  a  short  distance  east  of  Gudger's  Ford  near 
the  present  railroad  station  called  Azalea.  He  had  been  here  but  a 
short  while  when  one  morning  he  went  out  to  find  his  horse.     Soon  his 


60 


Asheville  and  Bimcomhe  County 


■M 


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^/^ 


f 


U  '  ^ 


wife  heard  the  report  of  guns,  and,  knowing  too  well  what  had  hap- 
pened, she  took  her  child  and  the  servant  and  made  her  way  along  the 
mountains  to  the  Old  Fort.  An  expedition  from  there"  at  once  set  out 
to  avenge  the  death  of  Davidson.  They  found  him  on  the  mountain 
near  his  cabin,  killed  and  scalped,  and  buried  his  body  on  the  spot 

where  it  was  found  and  where  his 
grave  may  still  be  seen.  It  is 
further  said  that  they  met  and 
conquered  the  Indians  in  a  battle 
fought  near  the  Swannanoa 
River  in  that  neighborhood  or 
about  Biltmore. 

Probably  it  is  to  this  pursu- 
ing party  that  the  tradition 
handed  down  by  John  S.  Rice 
as  received  by  him  from  John 
Rice,  David  Nelson  and  William 
Rhodes,  three  hunters  and  Revo- 
lutionary soldiers,  relates.  It  is 
that,  at  a  time  prior  to  white 
settlement  of  the  lower  Swan- 
nanoa Valley,  some  Cherokees 
were  returning  from  depredations 
on  the  whites  and  being  pursued 
Grave  of  Samuel  Davidson  by  t^g  latter,  wcre  Overtaken  at 

about  the  Cheesborough  Place,  a  mile  above  Biltmore,  where  a  fight  oc- 
curred between  the  two  parties  which  continued  at  the  canebrakes  there 
at  intervals  for  elevent  days,  in  which  many  Indians  were  killed,  prin- 
cipally near  the  ford  of  Swannanoa  River  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
old  John  Patton  House,  later  known  as  the  Haunted  House,  where  the 
old  Buncombe  Turnpike  crossed  that  stream,  until  the  Indians 
retreated  across  the  French  Broad  and  the  fight  ended.  They  crossed 
the  last-named  river  at  a  shoal  just  below  the  mouth  of  Swannanoa. 
During  most  of  this  fight  the  whites  encamped  at  a  noted  spring  just 
north  of  Swannanoa  River  about  one  hundred  yards  above  the  Biltmore 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  61 

Concrete  Bridge  where  there  is  now  a  garage.  It  was  an  old  Indian 
camping  place.  The  early  white  hunters  in  this  region  went  chiefly  to 
the  North  Fork  of  Swannanoa. 

Soon  several  white  settlements  were  made  on  the  Swannanoa,  tl: 
earliest  of  them  being  the  "Swannanoa  Settlement,"  made  in  1784 
1785  by  the  Alexanders,  Davidson  and  others  about  the  mouth  of  Bee 
Tree  Creek.  A  little  above  that  place  is  the  old  Edmuns  or  Jordan 
Field,  the  first  land  cleared  by  a  white  man  in  Buncombe  County. 
Soon  another  company  passed  over  the  Bull  Mountain  and  settled 
upper  Reems  Creek,  while  yet  another  came  in  by  way  of  what  is  now 
Yancey  County,  and  settled  on  the  lower  Reems  Creek  and  Flat  Creek. 
At  about  the  same  time,  or  not  long  afterward,  some  of  the  Watauga 
people  who  had  been  with  Sevier  on  some  one  of  his  expeditions  against 
the  Indians,  settled  on  the  French  Broad  above  and  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Swannanoa,  and  on  Hominy  Creek;  while  still  other  settle- 
ments appear  to  have  been  effected  from  upper  South  Carolina,  yet 
higher  up  on  the  French  Broad. 

At  the  treaty  of  Long  Island  of  Holston,  the  North  Carolina 
commissioners  entered  into  certain  agreements  with  the  Overhill 
Cherokees,  but  in  their  report  recommended  to  the  State  a  treaty  with 
the  Cherokees  of  the  Middle  Towns  and  Valley  Towns* by  which  might 
be  secured  the  intervening  territory  now  constituting  the  Asheville 
Plateau.  For  such  a  treaty  the  State  began  to  make  arrangements  and, 
in  anticipation  of  it,  provided  in  1783  for  the  granting  of  land  as  far 
west  as  Pigeon  River.  It  was  under  this  statute  of  1783  that  the  settle- 
ments just  mentioned  were  formed. 


I 


Chapter  V 

BUNCOMBE  COUNTY 

A  T  this  time  the  Swannanoa  River  was  recognized  as  the  dividing 
/■%  line  between  Burke  County  on  the  north  and  Rutherford 
"^   "^    County  on  the  south. 

In  1785  Joseph  McDowell,  Jr.,  ran  this  dividing  line,  "'Beginning 
at  the  west  point  of  the  line  that  formerly  divided  the  above  said 
counties,  thence  west  to  the  Indian  boundary  as  in  the  Act  of  Assembly 
of  the  seventeenth  of  May  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
three,"  that  is,  to  Pigeon  River.  It  crossed  Swannanoa  River  about 
half  a  mile  above  Biltmore.  In  1788  this  survey  w^as  adopted  by  the 
Legislature. 

On  October  5,  1784,  Captain  William  Moore  above  mentioned 
caused  to  be  surveyed  a  tract  of  land  containing  450  acres  on  Hominy 
Creek  three  miles  west  of  French  Broad  River,  later  known  as  the 
Captain  Charles  Moore  Place,  and  recently  owned  by  Dr.  David  M. 
Gudger.  On  August  7,  1787,  he  procured  a  grant  for  this  land  lying 
on  both  sides  of  Hominy  Creek.  This  w'as  probably  the  first  grant  for 
land  now  in  Buncombe  County.  The  original  grant  is  now  owned  by 
Mr.  Owen  Gudger,  formerly  postmaster  of  Asheville.  When  Captain 
Moore  got  his  grant,  as  I  learn  from  IMr.  Gudger,  he  put  on  the  land  a 
negro  named  Jim  and  Jim's  wafe  Sue  on  the  southern  side  of  the  creek 
in  a  cabin;  and  there  these  negroes  for  many  years  sold  food  to 
travellers  until  Captain  Moore  himself  removed  to  this  land,  where  he 
resided  and  died  and  was  buried. 

From  portions  of  Burke  and  Rutherford  counties  was  subse- 
quently formed  the  County  of  Buncombe,  named  for  Col.  Edward 
Buncombe,  a  North  Carolina  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 

In  1729  this  territory  would  have  been  embraced  in  the  County  of 
Clarendon.  At  this  time  the  County  of  New  Hanover,  with  indefinite 
western  boundaries  which  seem  to  have  extended  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
then  called  the  South  Seas,  was  formed,  and  the  name  of  Clarendon 
as  a  county  disappears.    From  New  Hanover  County  in  1738  was  cut 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


63 


off  and  erected  the  County  of  Bladen,  whose  western  limits  were  left 
undefined.  Again  from  the  County  of  Bladen  was  formed  in  1749 
the  County  of  Anson,  still  with  undefined  western  limits.  Here  Bun- 
combe's genealogy  divides  into  two  branches,  to  be  united  again  in  her 
own  creation. 


y/7:^^ 


■^'/y'-J/A/y'^^C^ 


Autograph  signature  of  Colonel  Edward  Buncombe  for  whom  Buncombe 
County  was  named 

That  portion  of  her  territory  which  was  taken  from  Burke  may 
be  traced  from  this  point  as  follows:  In  1758  Rowan  County  was 
formed  from  a  part  of  Anson  County,  and  up  to  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  continued  in  its  entirety.  In  1777  was  formed 
from  its  western  portion  a  new  county  called  Burke. 

That  portion  of  Buncombe  County  which  was  taken  from  Ruther- 
ford may  be  traced  as  follows:  In  1762  was  formed  from  the  western 
part  of  the  County  of  Anson  a  new  county  called  in  honor  of  the  new- 
queen  of  England,  Princess  Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg,  by  the  name 
of  Mecklenburg  County.  In  1768  the  western  part  of  Mecklenburg 
County  was  erected  into  a  new  county,  and  named  in  honor  of  North 
Carolina's  notorious  colonial  governor,  Tryon  County,  but  during  the 
struggle  for  independence  the  North  Carolinians  were  but  little  dis- 
posed to  honor  the  name  of  their  former  oppressor,  and  when  in  1779 
this  county  had  become  inconveniently  large,  it  was  formed  into  two 
new  counties,  and  the  name  of  Tryon  dropped,  and  the  eastern  part 
called  Lincoln,  while  the  western  portion  received  the  name  of  Ruther- 
ford County,  in  honor  of  Gen.  Griffith  Rutherford. 

In  1792,  while  David  Vance  from  the  upper  Reems  Creek  settle-j 
ment  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  Burke  County,  and  Col  J 


64  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

William  Davidson,  who  lived  on  the  south  side  of  the  Swannanoa, 
about  two  miles  from  Asheville,  represented  Rutherford  County  in  the 
same  body,  the  County  of  Buncombe  was  formed  of  the  western  portions 
1  of  Burke  and  Rutherford  counties,  with  its  western  borders  fixed  by 
the  line  of  the  territory  which  two  or  three  years  before  North  Carolina 
had  ceded  to  the  United  States,  and  which  was  afterward  created  into 
pe  State  of  Tennessee. 

In  April,  1792,  there  was  organized  at  the  residence  of  Col. 
William  Davidson,  which  stood  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Swannanoa, 
about  one-half  mile  above  its  mouth,  at  a  place  subsequently  called 
the  Gum  Spring,  the  County  of  Buncombe,  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  act  creating  that  county.  At  this  place  was  transacted 
for  one  year  the  business  of  the  County  of  Buncombe,  until  in  April, 
1793,  the  county  seat  was  fixed  where  it  has  ever  since  remained. 

Famous  as  Buncombe  County  deservedly  is,  she  has  acquired  some 
notoriety  that  no  place  less  merits.  Her  name  has  become  synonymous 
with  empty  talk,  a  lucus  a  non  lucendo.  In  the  Sixteenth  Congress  of 
the  United  States  the  district  of  North  Carolina  which  embraced 
Buncombe  County  was  represented  in  the  lower  house  by  Felix  Walker. 
The  Missouri  question  was  under  discussion  and  the  house,  tired  by 
speeches,  wanted  to  come  to  a  vote.  At  this  time  Mr.  Walker  secured 
the  floor  and  was  proceeding  with  his  address,  at  best  not  very  forceful 
or  entertaining,  when  some  impatient  member  whispered  to  him  to  sit 
down  and  let  the  vote  be  taken.  This  he  refused  to  do,  saying  that  he 
must  ''make  a  speech  for  Buncombe,"  that  is,  for  his  constituents;  or, 
as  others  say,  certain  members  rose  and  left  the  hall  while  he  was 
speaking  and  when  he  saw  them  going,  he  turned  to  those  who 
remained  and  told  them  that  they  might  go  too,  if  they  wished,  as  he 
was  "only  speaking  for  Buncombe."  The  phrase  was  at  once  caught 
up  and  the  vocabulary  of  the  English  language  was  enriched  by  the 
addition  of  a  new  term. 

Felix  Walker  was  born  in  Hampshire  County,  Virginia,  on  July 
19,  1775,  and  began  life  as  a  merchant.  His  grandfather,  John 
Walker,  emigrated  in  1720  from  Derry,  Ireland,  to  Delaw^are,  where 
his  father,  also  named  John,  was  born.     The  younger  Walker  after 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  65 

reaching  manhood  went  to  Virginia  where  he  married  and  afterwards 
moved  to  North   Carolina.     In  the  last  State  he  settled  in  Tryon, 
afterward  Lincoln,  County,  on  Seipe's  Creek,  but  subsequently  removed 
to  Crowder's  Creek,  about  four  miles  from   Kings  Mountain.     He 
was  a  member  of  the  first  convention  at  Hillsboro  in  July,  1775,  and 
also  of  the  Provincial  Congress  which  met  there  on  August  21,  1775. 
After  serving  with  the  Americans  throughout  the  Revolutionary  War, 
he  died  in  1796.     Felix  Walker,  his  oldest  son,  went  with  Richard 
Henderson  to  Kentucky  (then  called  Louisa),  in  1775,  on  an  expedition 
of  which  Daniel  Boone  was  pilot.     Here  he  was  badly  wounded  by 
Indians,  and  owed  his  life  to  the  attention  of  Colonel  Boone.    After  his 
return  he  remained  for  a  while  at  home  and  then  went  to  the  Watauga 
settlement,  now  in  East  Tennessee,  where  he  became  clerk  of  the  first 
court  in  the  new  County  of  Washington.     While  holding  this  office 
he  came  to  Mecklenburg  County  in  North  Carolina  and  joined  the 
State  troops  and  was  made  captain  of  a  company  placed  at  Nolli- 
chucky  to  guard  the  frontier  against  Indians.    After  this  he  returned 
to  his  duties  as  clerk.    This  office  he  filled  for  four  years  in  all.    Then 
he  removed  to  Rutherford  County,  North  Carolina,  and  was  appointed 
clerk  of  the  court  in  that  county.     He  resided  on  Cane  Creek.     After 
this  he  was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  from  that 
county  in  1792,  1793,  1799,  1800,  1801,  1802  and  1806.     In  1817 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Fifteenth  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  was  thereafter  re-elcted  to  the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Con- 
gresses.    He  was  succeeded  in  Congress  in  1823  by  Dr.  Robert  B. 
Vance,  an  uncle  of  the  late  Governor  Z.  B.  Vance.    Again  in  1827  he 
was  a  candidate  for  Congress,  but  withdrew  in  favor  of  Samuel  P. 
Carson,  who  defeated  Vance  and  James  Graham.     Soon  after  leaving 
Congress  Mr.  Walker  removed  to  Mississippi  where  he  died  in  1828. 
For    a   more   extended   but    somewhat   incorrect   sketch    of   him   see 
Wheeler's  Reminiscences,  page  408.     This  was  a  period  of  important 
events.    In  1827  Vance  and  Carson  again  opposed  each  other  for  Con- 
gress.   While  speaking  at  Asheville,  Vance  referred  to  Carson's  father 
in  disparaging  terms.     For  this  Carson  challenged  him.     They  fought 
on  the  South  Carolina  line  at  Saluda  Gap.    Vance  fell  and  died  in  a 


66  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

few  hours.  Among  the  friends  who  accompanied  Carson  on  this  occa- 
sion was  the  celebrated  Colonel  David  Crockett,  who  married  a  Miss 
Patton  on  Swannanoa,  and  was  killed  at  the  Alamo,  fighting  for  Texas 
and  her  independence.  After  four  terms  in  Congress,  Carson  went  to 
Texas  in  1835  and  there  became  Secretary  of  State.  He  died  at  Little 
Rock,  Arkansas,  in  November,  1840. 

The  site  of  Asheville  was  once  within  the  borders  of  a  vast  and 
mighty  Indian  empire.  In  1736  a  German  Jesuit  named  Christian 
Priber  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  French  army  came  to  the  Cher- 
okee countr}^  and  took  up  his  abode  among  the  Cherokees  on  Big  Tellico 
River,  now  in  Tennessee  but  then  in  North  Carolina  and  still  not  more 
than  a  dozen  miles  beyond  the  North  Carolina  border.  He  was  a  man 
of  profound  and  extensive  learning,  highly  polished  manners,  consum- 
mate address,  and  profound  sagacity.  Although  "adorned  with  every 
qualification  that  constitutes  the  gentleman,"  he  exchanged  his  clothes 
with  the  head  warriors  of  Tellico  River  and  ate,  drank,  slept,  danced, 
and  painted  himself  with  them  and  took  one  of  their  women  for  a  wife. 
Already  he  was  master  of  the  Greek,  Latin,  German,  French,  Spanish, 
and  English  languages,  and  he  soon  became  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  language  of  the  Cherokees.  He  set  to  work  to  persuade  the 
Indians  to  form  an  empire  which  would  be  sufficiently  pow^erful  to 
drive  the  white  men  from  America.  The  old  Indian  archi-magus  was 
crowned  emperor  with  much  ceremony  and  the  other  chief  men  of  that 
neighborhood  were  elevated  to  offices  with  high-sounding  titles  in  the 
new  empire,  while  Priber  himself  became  principal  secretary  of  state 
to  his  majesty  the  new  emperor.  The  plan  was  to  engage  all  the 
Southern  tribes  of  Indians  to  become  subjects  of  the  empire.  He  en- 
couraged the  aboriginal  vanity  of  the  Cherokees  by  pointing  out  their 
superior  numbers  in  having  about  six  thousand  warriors  and  their 
bravery  and  fame  in  war,  and  represented  the  English  as  a  people, 
fraudulent,  avaricious,  encroaching,  and  inferior  in  numbers  as  well  as 
in  warlike  spirit  to  the  mighty  Cherokees.  Soon  the  British  authorities 
at  Charlestown,  South  Carolina,  heard  of  what  was  going  on  upon 
Tellico  and  sent  Colonel  Fox  to  arrest  Priber  and  bring  him  to  Charles- 
town.  Fox  seized  his  man  and  made  a  speech  to  the  Indians  in  ex- 
plantation  of  his  action.     Before  he  had  concluded,  one  of  the  warriors 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  67 

interrupted  the  speaker  and  told  him  that  the  man  whom  he  wished  to 
make  prisoner  was  npw  a  Cherokee  and  a  great  friend  to  their  nation 
who  had  come  a  great  way  to  benefit  them  and  preserve  their  liberties 
and  must  not  be  interferred  with,  while  Colonel  Fox  must  leave  the 
country.     Fox  departed  under  a  passport  of  safe  conduct  from  Priber 
himself,  who  also  furnished  to  the  British  agent  a  bodyguard  to  con- 
duct him  in  safety  a  considerable  distance  on  the  way  to  Charlestown. 
Meanwhile  Priber  proceeded  in  the  execution  of  his  plans  of  founding 
a  vast  red  empire.    He  invited  criminals  of  all  classes  to  seek  an  asylum 
in  his  new  government,  and  urged  debtors,  felons,  servants,  and  negro 
slaves  to  escape  and  join  him,  promising  them  exemption  from  punish- 
ment for  any  crime  or  licentiousness,  except  murder  and  idleness,  which 
they  might  commit.    This  went  on  for  eight  years  until  in  1744,  when 
he  started  to  Mobile  and  proceeded  to  within  two  days'  journey  of  that 
place.     Having  passed  by  land  to  the  navigable  part  of  Tallapoosa 
River  he  was  spending  the  night  at  Tookabatcha,  when  some  traders 
recognized  him  and  forcibly  carried  him  a  prisoner  to  Frederica  in 
Georgia.     General  Oglethorpe,  then  governor  of  Georgia,  was  amazed 
to  find  that  this  man  dressed  in  deer-skins  and  moccasins  was  a  man  of 
much  erudition,  polish,  and  accomplishment.     With  Priber  had  been 
seized  a  bunch  of  his  manuscripts,  including  a  Cherokee  dictionary 
which  he  had  prepared  for  publication  in  Paris  and  his  plan  of  the 
government  for  the  new  empire.     He  explained  his  plans  freely,  ex- 
hibited evidence  that  he  might  expect  aid  from  France  and  another  un- 
named European  country,  and  took  his  imprisonment  with  great  cool- 
ness.    When   the  difficulties   of   his  enterprise  were  mentioned,   he 
answered  that  by  ''proceeding  properly,  many  of  these  evils  might  be 
avoided  ;^  and  as  to  length  of  time,  we  have  a  succession  of  agents  to 
take  up  the  work  as  fast  as  others  leave  it.    We  never  lose  sight  of  a 
favorite  point,  nor  are  we  bound  by  the  strict  rules  of  morality  in  the 
means,  when  the  end  we  pursue  is  laudable.     If  we  err,  our  general  is 
to  blame;    and  we  have  a  merciful  God  to  pardon  us.    Before  the  cen- 
tury is  passed  the  Europeans  will  have  a  very  small  footing  on  this 
continent."     A  magazine,  containng  powder  and  shells,  took  fire  near 
his  prison  and  he  was  warned  to  escape.     Instead,  he  lay  flat  on  the 
floor.     When  the  sentinels  returned  after  the  explosion,  expecting  to 


68  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

find  that  he  was  dead,  they  observed  him  quietly  seated  reading  a  Greek, 
book.  When  they  reproached  him  for  his  rashness,  he  said  that  his 
experience  had  shown  him  that  his  was  the  best  method  to  avoid 
danger.  While  thus  a  prisoner  he  became  sick  and  soon  died.  Thus 
ended  the  great  empire  of  the  Cherokees  in  North  Carolina  and  lands 
adjoining  on  the  south. 


Chapter  VI 
ASHEVILLE 

THE  town  of  Asheville  was  founded  by  John  Burton. 
What  street  in  Asheville  bears  his  name  ?    What  has  ever 
been  done  by  the  town  to  honor  her  founder?     In  fact,  how 
many  of  Asheville's  people  ever  heard  of  John  Burton  ?    Is  it  not  high 
time  that  this  shameful  negligence  should  cease? 

On  the  7th  day  of  July,  1794,  John  Burton  obtained  from  the  »| 
State  of  North  Carolina  a  grant  for  200  acres  of  land  in  Buncombe__ 
CountypTavnig  its  northern  boundary  formed  by  a  line  extending  from 
a  pomt  in  Charlotte  Street  near  the  mouth  of  Clayton  Street,  west- 
wardly  along  Orange  Street,  and  further  on  to  a  point  in  the  late 
Captain  M.  J.  Fagg's  lot  east  of  North  Main  Street;  its  southern 
boundary  formed  by  a  line  running  from  the  entrance  of  the  Martin 
property  at  the  eastern  end  of  Atkin  Street,  westwardly  along  Atkin 
Street  and  further  on  to  a  point  in  the  rear  of  the  Ravenscrof t  property ; 
while  its  eastern  boundary  extended  northwardly  along  the  northern 
part  of  Valley  Street  through  the  grounds  of  the  College  Street  public 
school,  formerly  the  Asheville  College  for  Young  Women,  and  along 
the  southern  part  of  Charlotte  Street;  and  its  western  boundary  ex- 
tended through  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the  Asheville  postof&ce  build- 
ing.   This  tract  was  thenceforth  known  as  the  Town  Tract. 

At  about  the  same  time  John  Burton  obtained  from  the  State  of 
North  Carolina  a  grant  to  another  tract  of  land  of  the  same  size  and 
dimensions,  immediately  north  of  the  Town  Tract.  This  other  tract 
became  knowTi  as  the  Gillihan  Tract. 

Before  these  grants  were  issued  and  while  his  only  claim  to  them 
was  that  acquired  by  entry,  John  Burton  had  planned  and  marked 
out  a  to^\Tl  upon  that  part  of  the  Town  Tract  which  lies  along  Main 
Street  southwardly  from  the  present  College  Street  to  the  bend  in 
South  Main  Street  where  are  now  the  Hilliard  residence  and  the  old 
car  shed.  /  This  land  was  "by  private  contract  laid  out  for  a  town 
called  Morristown,  the  county  town  of  Buncombe  County,"  into  42  lots 


70 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


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Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  7 1 

containing,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  at  the  southern  end,  one-half 
of  an  acre  each,  lying  on  both  sides  of  a  street  thirty-three  feet  wide, 
which  runs  where  the  southern  part  of  North  Main  Street  and  the 
northern  part  of  South  Main  Street  now  are.  Each  lot  had  a  frontage 
on  this  street  of  five  poles,  except  the  two  small  ones  above  mentioned, 
and  they  all  extended  back  from  the  street  sixteen  poles. 

The  town  was  named  by  the  County  Court  in  April,  1793,  Morris- 
town,  although  sometimes  it  was  called  Morriston,  Morris,  and  once^ 
even,  the  Town  of  Morris,  and  still  more  generally  Buncombe  Court- 
house. It  had  but  one  other  street,  which  was  of  the  same  width  as 
Main  Street  and  was  planned  to  extend  along  the  eastern  end  of  Patton 
Avenue  and  straight  on  across  the  public  square  for  an  equal  distance 
beyond  the  square.  An  alley  of  fifteen  feet  in  width  crossed  the 
Main  Street  at  the  junction  of  Sycamore  and  South  Main  Streets.  A 
reduced  copy  of  this  plan  of  the  town  as  laid  out  is  here  given. 

It  will  be  observed  that  two  of  these  lots  were  not  numbered,  and 
it  is  probable  that  they  were  intended  to  be  reserved  for  public  build- 
ings. It  will  be  further  observed  that  the  land  now  constituting  the 
Public  Square  was  then  laid  off  into  private  lots  except  that  part  of  it 
included  in  Main  Street.  Nobody  seems  to  know  why  the  name  of 
Morristown  was  bestowed  upon  the  place,  and  any  conjecture  as  to  the 
person  or  place  in  whose  honor  the  name  was  given  could  amount  to 
nothing  more  than  a  mere  guess. 

The  county  court,  which,  at  its  first  session  in  April,  1792,  and  at 
all  its  subsequent  sessions  up  to  and  including  that  of  April,  1793, 
had  met  at  the  house  of  Colonel  William  Davidson  on  the  southern 
side  of  Swannanoa  River  at  the  Gum  Spring  above  mentioned,  but 
which,  according  to  tradition,  was  so  numerously  attended  at  its  first 
session  as  to  render  it  necessary,  after  organization,  to  adjourn  to 
Davidson's  barn  and  complete  that  meeting  there,  began  its  meeting 
on  the  third  Monday  of  July,  1793,  to  sit  "at  the  court  house  in  Morris- 
town."  At  their  last  preceding  meeting  on  Tuesday  of  that  session, 
which  began  "on  third  Monday  in  April,  A  Domini,  1793,"  the  fol- 
lowing entry  appears  upon  their  minutes : 


72  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

"Ordered  by  the  court  that  William  Davidson  be 
allowed  25  pounds  for  the  use  of  house  to  hold  court  in. 

"Scite  for  Court  house  settled  and  fixed  upon. 

''State  of  North  Carolina,  Buncombe  County,  s  s. 

"We  the  commissioners  appointed  by  Act  of  1792  to 
settle  and  place  the  court  house,  prison  and  stocks,  do  certify 
that  WE  have  agreed  and  hereby  do  agree  that  the  court 
house  shall  stand  as  near  to  the  big  branch  between  the 
Indian  graves,  and  Swannanoa,  not  exceeding  or  extending 
more  North  than  the  Indian  graves  and  nearest  and  best 
situation  to  the  ford  of  said  Branch,  where  the  present  wagon 
road  crosses  the  same — the  stocks  and  prison  to  be  convenient 
to  the  court  house. 

"John  Dillard, 
"George  Baker, 
"Austin  Chote, 
"William  Morrison. 
"Witness, 

"Philip  Hoodenpile. 
"Named,  Morristown. 

"Ordered  by  the  court  that  the  place  fixed  upon  by  the 
commissioners,  for  erecting  the  court  house  prison  and  Stocks 
be  named  Morristo\\Ti." 

"Court  adjourned  till  the  third  Monday  in  July,  to  meet 
at  Morristown." 

The  legislature  which  created  the  county  appointed  a  committee 
to  determine  the  location  of  the  county  to\\Ti.  There  were  two  places 
thought  of  for  the  site.  One  of  these  was  where  until  of  late  years 
stood  the  old  brick  residence  of  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy  and  later  of 
Mr.  R.  P.  Walker  about  two  miles  south  of  Swannanoa  River  on  the 
road  from  Asheville  to  Hendersonville  and  for  many  years  called  the 
Steam  Saw-mill  Place,  because  the  first  saw  mill  operated  by  steam 
ever  in  Western  North  Carolina  had  been  located  on  that  place  and 
there  sawed  the  thick  planks  which  were  used  to  build  the  plank  road 
between  Asheville  and  Hendersonville.     The  other  place  at  which  it 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  73 

had  been  suggested  to  put  the  county  town  was  on  or  near  the  site  of 
the  present  city  of  Asheville  and  about  on  its  principal  or  Main  Street. 
The  people  from  the  northern  part  of  the  new  county  favored  the 
locality  on  which  part  of  Asheville  stands  and  half  of  the  committee 
appointed  to  decide  the  matters  was  of  their  view.  The  people  from 
the  southern  part  of  the  new  county  favored  the  locality  south  of 
Swannanoa  River  and  the  other  half  of  the  committee  was  of  these 
people.  The  committee  could  not  agree  on  the  site  for  the  town.  The 
next  legislature  appointed  a  new  committee,  composed  equally  of  men 
from  the  southern  end  of  the  county  and  men  from  the  northern  end 
of  the  county.  But  this  time  it  took  the  precaution  to  add  to  the  new 
committee  William  IMorrison  from  Burke  County  as  an  impartial  odd 
member.  Again  the  committee-men  from  the  north  end  of  the  county 
and  the  committee-men  from  the  south  end  of  the  county  failed  to  agree. 
Then  the  matter  was  determined  by  vote  of  William  Morrison,  the  man 
from  Burke  County.  The  three  members  of  the  new  committee  who 
were  from  the  northern  end  of  the  county  joined  with  William  Morrison 
in  the  report,  which  the  three  members  of  the  committee  from  the  south 
end  of  the  county  did  not  sign. 

It  is  probable  that  the  name  of  Morristown  was  given  to  the  town 
thus  located  in  honor  of  William  Morrison,  whose  vote  on  the  com- 
mittee decided  the  dispute,  his  name  being  abbreviated  as  too  long  for 
convenience  when  the  word  "town"  was  added  and  as  it  was  not  un- 
common in  those  days  when  speaking  of  men  with  rather  long  names 
to  abbreviate  the  names  by  exciding  the  latter  parts.  This  suggestion 
gains  weight  from  the  fact  that  the  town's  name  was  soon  changed  to 
Asheville,  probably  because  the  giving  of  the  name  of  the  man  who 
decided  the  controversy  against  the  southern  portion  of  the  county  td 
the  county  town  was  disagreeable  to  the  losers.  This  suggestion  as  tol 
the  origin  of  the  name  of  Morristown  given  to  the  new  county  tow^n  is 
offered  as  a  conjecture  in  the  total  absence  of  any  record  or  tradition  or 
other  reasonable  theory  which  would  tend  to  explain  the  name. 

The  Indian  graves  here  spoken  of  appear  to  have  been  rather  un- 
fortunate as  a  place  for  the  determination  of  a  controverted  matter,  as 
this  was.  There  was  a  place  known  at  that  time  as  "the  Indian 
graves,"  about  a  half  mile  further  south.    It  was  on  the  hill  on  which 


74  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

stands  the  residence  of  the  late  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy,  lately  owned  by 
Mrs.  S.  E.  Buchanan.  This  place  is  so  called  in  more  than  one  of  the 
old  deeds.  (See  Register's  Book  B,  page  40.)  There  is,  however,  a 
well-supported  tradition,  handed  down  by  the  late  E.  H.  Cunningham 
and  the  late  Montraville  Patton,  that  somewhere  in  the  space  between 
the  Public  Square  and  the  Battery  Park  hill,  called  in  the  old  deeds 
invariably  by  the  name  of  the  Stony  Hill,  were  some  Indian  graves  at 
the  gap  between  the.se  points  where  an  old  Indian  trail  ran  across  from 
.south  to  north  at  the  lowest  spot,  now  in  Patton  Avenue  (once  much 
lower  than  at  present)  and  marked  on  the  south  by  the  building  once 
occupied  in  part  by  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  op- 
posite Raysor's  Drug  Store  and  on  the  north  by  the  Raysor's  Drug 
Store;  and  that  these  graves  were  known  as  the  "Indian  Graves,"  and 
this  gap  as  the  "Indian  Grave  Gap."  This  tradition  has  been  pre- 
served by  the  late  Mr.  R.  B.  Justice,  and  was  derived  by  him  from  the 
old  men  above  mentioned,  who  had  spent  their  lives  in  the  vicinity  of 
Asheville.  The  Big  Branch  mentioned  in  this  report  is  that  which  a 
short  while  after  became  known  as  Gash's  Creek,  and  in  later  years 
was  called  Town  Branch,  and  is  now  commonly  know^n  by  the  mean- 
ingless name  of  Cripple  Creek.  It  is  the  stream  which  runs  by  the 
passenger  station  at  Asheville.  Here  it  should  be  remarked  that  the 
place  where  the  Public  Square  now  is  has  been  from  time  to  time  very 
much  lowered  by  grading  and  that  at  one  time  there  was  here  the  very 
sharp  top  of  a  hill,  so  sharp,  in  fact,  that  old  men  have  told  me  they 
remembered  distinctly  that,  at  one  time,  a  man  standing  at  the  south- 
western corner  of  the  Public  Square  could  not  see  the  top  of  a  high 
covered  wagon  standing  on  Main  Street  where  College  Street  crosses  it. 
This  last  mentioned  site  of  Indian  graves  is  certainly  so  situated  as 
to  make  it  most  probable  in  view  of  the  report  of  the  commissioners 
locating  the  town  that  this  tradition  is  correct.  The  Indian  graves  on 
the  Hardy  hill  could  not  have  been  those  referred  to  in  the  report  since 
there  is  no  big  branch  between  that  place  and  Swannanoa,  and  since 
the  town  was  actually  placed  "exceeding  or  extending  more  north  than" 
that  place. 

Charles  II.,  King  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  granted,  in  1663, 
a  large  quantity  of  land   stretching  across   the  continent  of  North 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  75 

America  to  eight  men  under  the  name  of  Carolina.  On  June  30,  1665, 
he  confirmed  this  with  boundaries  enlarged  on  the  northern  and 
southern  sides.  This  included  North  Carolina.  The  grantees  were 
called  Lords  Proprietors.  After  sixty-four  and  sixty-six  years  the 
successors  of  these  Lords  Proprietors,  except  John,  Lord  Carteret 
afterwards  Earl  of  Granville,  who  owned  one-eighth,  conveyed  the 
land  to  George  IL,  King  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  Lord 
Carteret's  share  was  laid  off  to  him  in  severalty  on  September  7,  1744^, 
in  the  northern  part  of  North  Carolina  and  its  southern  border  was 
run  part  of  the  w^ay  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  west,  but  the  line  was  not 
surveyed  across  the  mountains.  If  extended  it  w^ould  run  through 
Buncombe  County,  passing  near  Buena  Vista,  and  leaving  Asheville 
and  all  the  northern  part  of  that  county  within  the  Granville  Land. 
When  the  treaty  at  Paris  of  1783  between  the  King  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  of  the  one  part,  and  the  thirteen  American  States,  of  the 
other  part,  ended  the  Revolutionary  War,  North  Carolina  claimed  this 
Granville  Land  as  having  passed  to  her  from  the  heirs  of  the  Earl  of 
Granville,  who  were  alien  enemies,  and  granted  it  to  various  persons. 
These  heirs  claimed  that  under  the  provisions  of  that  treaty  their  title 
was  not  divested,  and  brought  suit  in  the  United  States  Court  at 
Raleigh  to  test  the  matter.  This  suit  caused  great  anxiety  in  North 
Carolina.  The  Governor,  in  a  message  to  the  legislature,  urged  prompt 
and  active  attention  to  it.  On  a  trial  at  Raleigh  in  1806  the  decision 
was  against  the  Granville  heirs  who  carried  the  case  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  where  it  was  dismissed  for  want  of  proper 
prosecution.  Had  the  Granville  heirs  won,  every  title  to  land  in 
Asheville  and  in  northern  Buncombe  County  would  have  been  invalid, 
except  in  cases  w^here  a  title  had  matured  by  adverse  holding, 

John  Carteret  was  the  grandson  of  George  Carteret,  one  of  the 
eight  original  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina.  He  was  the  son  of 
George  Carteret,  first  baron  Carteret,  and  was  born  April  22,  1690. 
When,  on  September  22,  1695,  his  father  died,  John  Carteret,  as  oldest 
surviving  son,  became,  at  five  years  of  age,  Baron  Carteret.  He  was 
educated  at  Westminster  School  and  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  and  made 
D.C.L.,  July  12,  1756.  Dean  Swift  said  of  him  that  "with  a  singu- 
larity scarce  to  be  justified,  he  carried  away  more  Greek,  Latin,  and 


76  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

philosophy  than  properly  became  a  person  of  his  rank;  indeed,  much 
more  of  each  than  most  of  those  who  are  forced  to  live  by  their  learning 
will  be  at  the  unnecessary  pains  to  load  their  heads  with."  On  May 
25,  1711,  Lord  John  Carteret  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
During  the  reign  of  George  I.,  Lord  Carteret  held  various  public  ap- 
pointments, and  was  particularly  successful  in  two  or  three  diplomatic 
missions  in  which  he  brought  about  peace  between  Sweden,  Prussia, 
Denmark  and  Hanover,  and  became  Lord-lieutenant  of  Ireland  in 
1724.  When  George  II.  came  to  the  throne  in  1727  Lord  Carteret 
received,  from  time  to  time,  numerous  appointments  to  important  posi- 
tions; and  in  1743  he  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Dettingen.  He 
became  president  of  the  council  in  1751,  having  by  the  death  of  his 
mother.  Countess  of  Granville,  on  October  18,  1744,  become  Earl  of 
Granville.  After  a  life  spent  principally  in  the  public  service,  he  died 
at  Bath  on  January  2,  1763,  and  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  learning,  being  eminent  as  a  classical  scholar 
and  "master  of  all  the  modem  languages."  "Lord  Granville,"  said 
Lord  Chesterfield,  "had  great  parts,  and  a  most  uncommon  share  of 
learning  for  a  man  of  quality.  He  was  one  of  the  best  speakers  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  both  in  the  declamatory  and  the  argumentative  way. 
He  had  a  wonderful  quickness  and  precision  in  seizing  the  stress  of  a 
question,  which  no  art,  no  sophistry,  could  disguise  to  him.  In  busi- 
ness he  was  bold,  enterprising,  and  overbearing.  *  *  *  He  was 
neither  ill-natured  nor  vindictive,  and  had  a  great  contempt  for  money; 
his  ideas  were  all  above  it.  In  social  life  he  was  an  agreeable,  good- 
humored,  and  instructive  companion,  a  great  but  entertaining  talker. 
*  *  *  His  political  knowledge  of  the  interest  of  princes  and  of 
commerce  was  extensive,  and  his  notions  were  just  and  great.  His 
character  may  be  summed  up  in  nice  precision,  quick  decision,  and  un- 
bounded presumption."  Horace  Walpole  said  that  of  the  five  great 
men  who  had  lived  in  his  time,  "Lord  Granville  was  most  a  genius  of 
the  five;  he  conceived,  knew%  expressed  what  he  pleased."  William 
Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham,  said  of  Lord  Granville  that  "in  the  upper  de- 
partment of  government  he  had  not  his  equal,  and  I  feel  a  pride  in 
declaring  that  to  his  patronage,  to  his  friendship,  and  instruction,  I 
owe  whatever  I  am." 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  77 

This  was  the  man  who  once  owned  the  territory  on  which  Ashe- 
ville stands  and  of  which,  except  a  small  strip  on  the  south,  Buncombe 
County  is  composed,  John  Carteret,  Earl  of  Granville. 

The  act  establishing  the  County  of  Buncombe  was  ratified  on  the^ 
14th  day  of  January,  1792,  and,  by  the  terms  of  that  act,  certain  com- 
missioners therein  named  were  directed  to  determine  the  place  where 
the  county  town  and  the  county's  public  buildings  should  be. 

This  act  creating  Buncombe  County  reads,  in  its  early  portions, 
as  follows: 

"An  act  forming  the  western  parts  of  Burke  and  Rutherford 
counties  into  a  separate  and  distinct  county. 

"Whereas  the  western  parts  of  Burke  and  Rutherford  counties  are 
very  inconvenient  to  the  court-houses  in  the  said  counties,  which 
renders  the  attendance  of  jurors  and  witnesses  very  burthensome  and 
expensive,  and  almost  impossible  in  the  winter  season;  and  in  order 
to  remedy  the  same, 

"1.  Be  it  enacted,  &c.  That  all  that  part  of  the  counties  of 
Burke  and  Rutherford,  circumscribed  by  the  following  lines,  viz.: 
Beginning  on  the  extreme  height  of  the  Apalachian  mountain,  where 
the  southern  boundary  of  this  state  crosses  the  same,  thence  along  the 
extreme  height  of  said  mountain  to  where  the  road  from  the  head  of 
Catawba  river  to  Swannanoe  crosses,  then  along  the  main  ridge  divid- 
ing the  waters  of  South-Toe  from  those  of  Swannanoe  unto  the  Great 
Black  mountain,  then  along  said  mountain  to  the  northeast  end,  then 
along  the  main  ridge  between  South-Toe  and  Little-Crabtree  to  the 
mouth  of  said  Crabtree  Creek,  then  down  Toe  river  aforesaid  to  where 
the  same  empties  into  Nollichucky  river,  then  dowii  the  said  river  to 
the  extreme  height  of  the  Iron  mountain  and  cession  line,  then  along 
said  cession  line  to  the  southern  boundary,  then  along  the  said 
boundary  to  the  beginning,  is  hereby  erected  into  a  separate  and  distinct 
county  by  the  name  of  Buncombe." 

Although  this  act  was  passed  at  the  session  of  the  legislature  for 
1791,  commencing  in  that  year  on  December  5th,  it  was  not  ratified 
until  January  14,  1792,  the  session  for  1792  not  beginning  until 
November  15,  1792. 


78  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

On  December  1,  1792,  another  act  amendatory  of  that  above  men- 
tioned was  passed,  and  in  this  it  was  recited  that  "the  commissioners 
appointed  to  fix  the  center  and  agree  where  the  public  buildings  in  the 
County  of  Buncombe  should  be  erected  have  failed  to  comply  with  the 
above  recited  Act,  and  the  inhabitants  of  said  county  much  injured 
thereby,"  and  it  was  accordingly  enacted  "for  remedy"  thereof  "that 
Joshua  Inglish,  Archibald  Neill,  James  Wilson,  Augustin  Shote, 
George  Baker  and  John  Dillard  in  the  county  aforesaid  and  William 
Morrison  of  Burke  County  be  appointed  commissioners  in  the  room 
and  stead  of  Philip  Hoodenpile,  William  Britain,  William  Whetson, 
James  Brittain  and  Lemuel  Clayton,  and  they  are  hereby  vested  with 
the  same  powers  and  authorities  as  the  former  commissioners  were 
vested  with,  and  they  or  a  majority  of  them  shall  agree  on  some  con- 
venient spot  as  nearly  central  as  may  be  for  convenience  to  the  in- 
habitants of  said  county,  whereon  the  public  buildings  shall  be  erected, 
any  Law,  usage  or  custom  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 

Probably  this  change  of  commissioners,  made  because  of  the 
failure  of  those  first  appointed  to  agree  on  some  spot  for  the  county  seat, 
should  not  be  attributed  to  an  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  those  first 
appointed  to  act,  but  rather  to  their  inability  to  agree  as  to  where  this 
county  seat  should  be.  It  is  certain  that  much  controversy  arose  at 
that  time  in  regard  to  the  site  of  the  court  house  between  the  advocates 
of  the  place  where  it  was  at  last  fixed  and  certain  persons  who  strenu- 
ously contended  that  its  location  should  be  at  the  old  Steam  Saw  Mill 
Place,  on  the  road  afterwards  known  as  the  Buncombe  Turnpike  Road, 
about  three  miles  south  of  Asheville,  where  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy  above 
mentioned  resided  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  Mr.  R.  P.  Walker  later 
lived.  The  man  from  Burke  was  probably  chosen  as  being  disinter- 
ested and  able  to  decide  in  case  of  a  difference  between  the  Buncombe 
men  who,  of  course,  were  interested.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  only 
half  of  the  Buncombe  commissioners  signed  the  report  and  all  of  them 
were  from  the  northern  end  of  the  county,  as  noted  above. 

This  would  seem  to  justify  the  precaution  of  adding  to  the  com- 
mission a  man  from  Burke  County  to  decide  in  case  of  a  disagreement 
among  the  others  of  the  commissioners,  all  of  whom  were  from  Bun- 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  79 

combe.    One  of  these,  Archibald  Neill,  had  died  since  his  appointment. 

The  second  county  officer  elected  on  the  first  day  of  the  first 
session  of  Buncombe  County  Court  was  "John  Davidson  (son  of 
James),"  register  of  deeds,  or,  as  it  was  called  in  the  minutes, 
"register."  On  the  same  day  Thomas  Davidson  was  elected  entry- 
taker,  or,  as  it  was  called  in  the  minutes,  "entry  officer  of  claims  for 
lands."  Next  day  John  Dillard  was  elected  "Stray  master  or  Ranger." 
It  was  on  this  last-mentioned  day  that  Reuben  Wood  was  elected 
county  solicitor,  or,  as  the  minutes  called  it,  "attorney  for  the  State  in 
Buncombe  County." 

At  this  time  the  Superior  courts  did  not  meet  in  Buncombe  County, 
but  were  held  for  what  was  then  called  the  District  of  Morgan  at 
Morganton  in  Burke  County,  and  were  known  as  Morgan  Superior 
Court.  To  constitute  part  of  the  jury  at  that  court  five  Buncombe  men 
were  required  by  law  to  be  chosen  regularly  by  the  County  Court  of 
Buncombe  County.  The  first  of  these  jurors  from  Buncombe  so  chosen 
were  selected  at  the  July  term  1792,  of  the  last  mentioned  court  and 
ordered  to  "serve  at  IMorgan  Supr.  Court,  Septr.  Term  as  the  Venire 
from  Buncombe."  They  consisted  of  Matthew  Patton,  William 
Davidson,  David  Vance,  Lambert  Clayton  and  James  Brittain. 

Immediately  upon  obtaining  his  grant  John  Burton  began  to  sell 
off  his  town  lots  as  they  had  been  laid  out.  His  first  sale  was  of  lot 
No.  4  to  Thomas  Burton  for  "twenty  shillings"  on  July  28,  1794, 
This  sale  was  made  in  the  same  month  in  which  the  grant  was  issued, 
and  was  for  the  land  now  occupied  by  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Swannanoa-Berkeley  hotel  building.  Town  lots  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  much  in  demand  at  this  time,  for  it  was  not  until  the  15th  day 
of  October  following  that  another  sale  was  made.  Then  John  Burton 
sold  to  Ann  Gash  for  five  pounds  lot  No.  2,  describing  it  as  the  lot  that 
"Joins  John  Patons,  Nomber  First  on  the  west  side  of  the  street"  and 
"the  lot  whereon  Ann  Gash's  house  now  stands."  This  lot  was  very 
near  what  was  then  the  most  improved  part  of  the  town.  The  first 
court  house,  if  we  may  credit  tradition,  was  a  log  structure  one  story 
high,  and  containing  a  single  room,  and  was  covered  with  boards  held 
to  their  places  by  the  weight  of  large  pieces  of  timber  laid  horizontally 
across  them.      It  is   said  to  have   stood  one  hundred   feet  south  of 


80  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Sycamore  Street  and  on  the  eastern  side  of  South  Main  Street,  as  this 
lot  seems  to  have  been  left  vacant  for  the  purpose;  but  more  probably 
it  stood  on  the  Public  Square  in  the  centre  of  Main  Street.  Apparently 
the  lot  opposite  the  vacant  lot  just  mentioned  was  intended  for  "the 
Stocks  and  prison  to  be  convenient  to  the  court  house."  This  court 
house  appears  to  have  been  used  as  such  for  many  years. 

The  next  lot  sold  was  lot  No.  7.  This  was  bought  on  October  21, 
1794,  by  Thomas  Foster  for  "twenty  shillings"  and  is  the  land  on 
which  stands  the  old  brick  building  on  the  western  side  of  South  Main 
Street  long  known  as  the  old  Rankin  &  Pulliam  store.  Five  dollars 
was  not  a  high  price  for  a  half-acre  lot  near  the  centre  of  the  town  and 
fronting  82j^  feet  on  the  main  street,  although  we  are  so  often  assured 
that  real  estate  has  always  been  ridiculously  high  in  Asheville. 

John  Burton  continued  to  sell  town  lots  until  he  had  disposed  of 
or  contracted  to  dispose  of  thirty-one  or  thirty-two  of  them.  Then, 
seemingly,  he  grew  tired  of  the  business  of  building  a  town,  and  on 
April  20,  1795,  sold  to  Zebulon  and  Bedent  Baird  for  two  hundred 
pounds  all  his  tracts  of  land  "including  the  Town  all  except  what  lots 
is  sold  and  maid  over."  Many  of  the  deeds  made  by  him  for  lots 
which  he  had  theretofore  contracted  to  sell  were  not,  however,  executed 
until  after  this  conveyance  to  the  Bairds. 

A  list  of  thse  sales  made  by  John  Burton,  interesting  as'  showing 
the  order  in  which  the  town  grew  and  who  were  its  first  inhabitants,  is 
here  given: 

Thomas  Burton,  lot  4,  for  20  shillings,  July  28,  1794,  record  book 
2,  page  .53. 

Ann  Gash,  half  of  lot  2,  for  5  pounds,  October  15,  1794,  record 
book  2,  page  82. 

Thomas  Foster,  lot  7,  for  20  shillings,  October  21,  1794,  record 
book  2,  page  56. 

Thomas  Foster,  lot  11,  for  4  pounds,  October  21,  1794,  record 
book  2,  page  107. 

Sarah  Hamilton,  lot  5,  for  "10  silver  dollars,"  October  22,  1794, 
record  book  2,  page  59. 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  81 

William  Wilson,  lots  24  and  25,  for  10  pounds,  October  22,  1794, 
record  book  2,  page  58. 

Thomas  Foster,  lot  3,  for  25  pounds,  October  24,  1794,  record 
book  2,  page  56. 

Zebulon  &  Bendent  Baird,  lot  — ,  for  4  pounds,  October  24,  1794, 
record  book  2,  page  99. 

John  Hawkins,  lot  20,  for  4  pounds,  January  19,  1795,  record 
book  2,  page  55. 

Harris  Hutchison,  lot  9,  for  4  pounds,  January  21,  1795,  record 
book  2,  page  100. 

John  Street,  lot  6,  for  5  pounds,  January  22,  1795,  record  book  2, 
page  51. 

John  Street,  back  lots,  for  4  pounds,  April  20,  1795,  record  book 
2,  page  230. 

James  Hughey,  lot  18,  for  4  pounds,  April  22,  1795,  record  book 

2,  page  236. 

John  Craig,  lot  20,  for  4  pounds,  April  22,  1795,  record  book  3, 
page  11. 

Joseph  Hughey,  lot  5,  two  for  4  pounds,  April  22,  1795,  record 
book  4,  page  176. 

Joseph  Hughey,  lots  29  and  30,  for  4  pounds,  April  22,  1795, 
record  book  3,  page  17. 

William  Forster,  lot  12,  for  4  pounds,  April  22,  1795,  record 
book  3,  page  45. 

Ephriam  D.  Harris,  lot  17,  for  4  pounds,  April  23,  1795,  record 
book  2,  page  174. 

Samuel  Lusk,  lot  13,  for  2  pounds,  April  23,  1795,  record  book  2, 
page  231. 

Edward  McFarling,  half  of  lot  27,  for  2  pounds,  April  23,  1795, 
record  book  2,  page  237. 

William  Wilson,  lot  south  of  town  for  10  pounds,  April  23,  1795, 
record  book  3,  page  27. 

Robert  Branks,  lot  39,  for  4  pounds,  April  23,  1795,  record  book 

3,  page  67. 

William  Lax,  ^Vi  acres,  for  40  pounds,  April  23,  1795,  record 
book  3,  page  92. 


82  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

James  Brittain,  lot  14,  for  100  pounds,  April  23,  1795,  record 
book  3,  page  144. 

Col.  William  Davidson,  lot  21,  for  —  pounds,  April  24,  ^795, 
record  book  2,  page  169. 

Johhn  Patton,  lots  16,  2,  and  10,  for  20  pounds,  October  15,  1795, 
record  book  2,  page  84. 

James  Davidson,  lot  26,  for  6  pounds,  April  21,  1796,  record  book 

2,  page  381. 

Benjamin  Hall,  lot  23,  for  4  pounds,  April  24,  1796,  record  book 

3,  page  142. 

James  Chambers,  lot  19,  for  $100,  July  20,  1797,  record  book  2. 
page  480. 

Hugh  Tate,  half  of  lote  13,  for  $50,  July  18,  1798,  record  book  4, 
page  160. 

Patton  &  Erwin,  lot  4,  for  $40,  March  15,  1805,  record  book  10, 
page  239. 

The  lots  are  described  as  being,  sometimes  in  Morriston,  some- 
times in  Alorristown,  sometimes  in  ^lorris  Towti  and  once  in  the  Town 
of  Morris,  except  the  last  two,  which  are  stated  to  be  in  the  town  of 
Asheville. 

mp:n  of  those  days 

Many  of  these  men  whose  names  are  given  in  this  list  as  pur- 
chasers of  lots  were  men  of  prominence  in  the  affairs  of  the  county,  or 
afterwards  became  such. 

Thomas  Foster  did  not  live  in  the  town,  but  on  the  southern  side 
of  the  Swannanoa  River,  and  on  the  old  Rutherfordton  road,  about  2>^ 
miles  south  of  Asheville,  on  the  farm  on  which  in  later  years  was  made 
the  junction  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  with  the  Asheville 
&  Spartanburg  Railroad  and  where  is  Biltmore.  He  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, on  October  14,  1774.  In  1786  his  father,  William  Forster,  came 
with  his  family  to  North  Carolina,  and  settled  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on 
the  northern  side  of  the  Swannanoa  River,  about  midway  between  the 
Hendersonville  road  and  the  road  leading  to  the  Swannanoa  by  way 
of  Fernihurst  at  a  place  where  a  small  branch  comes  through  a  hollow 
and  crosses  the  vallev  into  the  Swannan©a  River.     Here  Thomas  lived 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  83 

until  he  grew  to  manhood.  Then  he  married  Orra  Sams,  whose  father, 
Edmund  Sams,  was  one  of  the  settlers  from  Watauga,  and  lived  on 
the  western  side  of  the  French  Broad  River,  later  the  site  of  Smith's 
Bridge,  until  he  removed  higher  up  that  river  on  the  same  side  to  a 
place  about  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  the  Swannanoa  at  the  old 
Gaston  place,  near  the  place  which  has  since  been  called  the  race  track- 
After  his  marriage  Thomas  Foster  settled  upon  the  farm  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  on  the  banks  of  Sweeten's  Creek,  after- 
wards called  Foster's  Mill  Creek,  the  first  which  enters  Swannanoa 
from  the  southern  side  above  the  concrete  bridge  on  the  Hendersonville 
road.  Here  he  built  the  first  bridge  across  the  Swannanoa.  Its  loca- 
tion was  about  one  hundred  yards  above  the  present  bridge.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  General  Assembly  of  North 
Carolina  from  Buncombe  County  in  1809,  1812,  1813  and  1814,  and 
represented  that  county  in  the  Senate  of  the  State  in  1817  and  181Q. 
After  a  long  and  prosperous  life  he  died  on  December  24  (incorrectly 
on  tombstone  Dec.  14),  1858,  and  is  buried  at  the  Newton  Academy 
graveyard.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  accumulated  a  considerable 
property.  A  large  family  of  children  survived  him.  Two  of  these  were 
living  in  1898,  but  have  died,  Thomas  Foster  of  Weakley  County, 
Tennesse,  and  ]Mrs.  Rachel  R.  Garner,  of  Winchester,  Ky.  ]Many  of 
his  descendants  reside  in  Buncombe  County.  His  wife  died  before  him 
on  August  27,  1853,  and  he  was  buried  by  her  side.  Frequent  men- 
tion of  him  will  be  found  in  Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina, 
Bennett's  Chronology  of  North  Carolina,  and  Bishop  Asbury's  Journal. 
He  was  known  as  Captain  Thomas  Foster.  But  as  his  uncle  of  the 
same  name  was  then  living  in  Buncombe  County  it  may  be  that  the 
latter  was  the  purchaser  of  that  name  to  whom  some  of  the  lots  men- 
tioned above  were  conveyed.  This  Thomas  Forster  was  usually  desig- 
nated as  Thomas  Foster,  Sr.,  and,  after  a  short  while,  removed  to 
Abbeville,  South  Carolina,  but  later  returned  to  Buncombe  and  died 
here  in  the  earlv  fall  of  1839. 

Zebulon  and  Bedent  Baird  were  brothers  who  came  from  New 
Jersey  to  North  Carolina  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  centur}'. 
They  were  Scotchmen  by  birth.  After  their  removal  to  North  Carolina 
they  were  the  first  merchants  in  Buncombe  County.     Both  settled  on 


84  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

farms  between  Asheville  and  Reems  Creek.  Here  they  died,  and 
numerous  descendants  of  both  yet  live  in  this  county.  Zebulon  Baird 
represented  Buncombe  County  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1800, 
1801,  1802  and  1803,  and  in  the  Senate  of  the  State  in  1806,  1809. 
1818,  1821  and  1822.  He  was  efficient  in  procuring  the  enactment 
of  the  law  under  which  the  Buncombe  Turnpike  was  constructed,  and 
is  said  to  have  found  difficulty  in  reconciling  his  friends  to  his  action 
in  this  matter;  but  declared  that  he  hoped  to  live  long  enough  to  see 
the  day  when  a  stage  coach  and  four  horses  would  gallop  through  the 
country  driven  by  a  man  armed  with  a  whip  and  a  tin  bugle.  .  This 
vision  was  destined  to  a  gorgeous  realization  but  he  never  lived  to  see  it. 
Nor  was  such  an  argument  to  be  despised.  Such  a  sight  would  indicate 
a  highway  of  commerce  while  it  gratified  the  highest  local  pride  then 
conceivable.  Xo  more  exhilarating  scene  w^as  ever  witnessed  than  a 
handsome  newly-painted  stage  coach  drawn  by  four  fine  horses  as  it 
bursts  upon  us  around  some  bend  in  the  mountain  dashing  at  full 
gallop  along  a  road  winding  its  way  through  the  mountain  defiles. 
No  more  inspiring  sound  ever  greeted  human  ears  than  that  of  the 
horn  of  the  stage  coach  rushing  up  to  some  mountain  station  while  its 
reverberations  penetrate  the  deep  recesses  and  are  tossed  from  hill  to 
hill  in  wild  and  wuerd  musical  cadences.  The  late  Zebulon  Baird 
Vance  was  Zebulon  Baird's  namesake  and  one  of  his  grandsons.  In 
1793  Zebulon  and  Bedent  Baird  carried  up  the  first  four-wheel  wagon 
ever  seen  in  Buncombe  County,  all  transportation  theretofore  having 
been  by  horseback  or  on  sleds  or  trucks.  This  wagon  they  brought 
across  the  South  Carolina  or  Saluda  Gap.  Zebulon  Baird  died  in 
March,  1827.  Before  his  death  the  Town  and  Gillihan  tracts  above 
mentioned,  together  with  the  Baird  400  acres,  a  tract  adjoining  these  on 
the  west  and  granted  by  the  State  to  both  in  1799,  were  sold  under 
execution  issued  from  Morganton  on  a  judgment  obtained  against 
them  by  a  third  brother,  Andrew  Baird,  and  were  bought  at  this  sale 
by  Zachariah  Candler,  who  undoubtedly  purchased  in  behalf  of 
Zebulon  Baird,  to  whom  he  conveyed  the  land  by  deed  made  eight  days 
later  than  that  to  him  from  the  sheriff.  After  the  death  of  Zebulon 
Baird,  his  brother  Bedent,"  or  Beadon,  or  Beden,  as  it  is  sometimes 
spelled,  conceived  that  in  this  transaction  there  had  been  something 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  85 

unfair  to  himself,  and  sued  the  widow  and  children  and  administrator 
of  his  deceased  brother  for  an  equal  share  in  the  land.  This  famous 
suit,  at  first  decideH  in  favor  of  Bedent,  was  carried  by  his  opponents 
to  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina,  where  at  June  term,  1837, 
nearly  10  years  after  its  beginning,  it  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  heirs 
of  Zebulon.  A  possession  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Town  Tract 
in  a  field  on  the  premises  of  the  late  M.  J.  Fagg  was  an  important 
element  in  turning  the  decision  for  Zebulon's  children.  The  late 
Governor  D.  L.  Swain  was  the  administrator  of  Zebulon  Baird  and 
took  great  interest  in  this  case.  He  is  said  to  have  openly  announced 
to  the  judge  who  tried  the  case  below  that  he  would,  procure  a  reversal 
in  the  court  above  and  to  have  added,  "I  will  make  Mr.  Badger  tear 
your  opinion  to  pieces." 

Zebulon  Baird  was  attacked  by  his  fatal  sickness  while  riding 
along  the  road  between  Reems  Creek  and  his  home  and  fell  from  his 
horse.  His  residence  was  the  old  house  (now  gone)  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  old  Buncombe  Turnpike  road,  about  two  and  one-half 
miles  north  of  Asheville  and  one-fourth  of  a  mile  south  of  the  entrance 
of  the  Burnsville  Road  and  later  owned  by  Capt.  J.  E.  Ray,  and  near 
the  Casket  Plant.  This  house  was  partly  a  log  structure  and  is  said 
to  have  been  constructed  with  loop  holes  in  order  to  be  used  as  a  block- 
house in  case  of  need  against  Indians. 

John  Street  was  afterwards  the  sheriff  of  Buncombe  County,  but 
mysteriously  disappeared  after  the  expiration  of  his  terms  of  office. 
He  was  believed  to  have  gone  to  Tennessee.  (Record  book  11,  page 
521.)  ^  ^ 

Joseph  Hughey  was  the  first  sheriff  of  Buncombe  County,  having 
been  elected  to  that  office  on  April  16,  1792.  He  was  re-elected  to  it' 
for  several  following  terms  successively,  and  was  a  large  land  owner 
in  the  vicinity  of  Asheville. 

At  a  later  date  James  Hughey,  whose  name  is  above  mentioned, 
was  also  a  sheriff  of  Buncombe  County.  He  it  was  who  as  such 
sheriff  made  in  1798  the  celebrated  sale  for  taxes  of  the  John  Gray 
Blount  lands,  themselves  embracing  whole  counties  and  amounting  to 
one  million  seventy-four  thousand  acres.  (Record  book  4,  page  230, 
and  Love  v.  Wilbourn,  5  Ired.  N.  C,  Rep.  344.) 


86  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

John  Craig  was  Buncombe  County's  first  treasurer,  an  office  then 
known  as  County  Trustee.  He  was  the  grantee  from  the  State  in  1798 
of  a  body  of  land  in  the  northern  part  of  the  tovdi  of  Asheville  later 
traversed  by  Sunset  Drive.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  resided  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  where  he  was  shot  from  ambush  and 
killed.  Henry  West  was  convicted  of  the  murder  but  was  pardoned, 
the  pardon  arriving  while  he  stood  on  the  scaffold  with  the  sheriff 
ready  to  execute  him.  He  was  a  most  eccentric  character  of  much 
intelligence  and  considerable  property  and  was  said  to  have  been  a 
sailor  and  served  under  Paul  Jones  in  the  Revolutionar>'  War;  but 
prided  himself  upon  being  discourteous  in  manner  and  brutal  in 
disposition. 

William  Forster,  the  father  of  Captain  Thomas  Foster,  above 
mentioned,  was  the  son  of  William  Forster  and  Mary  Forster,  his  wife. 
He  belonged  to  that  large  class  of  people  called  Scotch-Irish,  who  have 
played  so  prominent  and  honorable  a  part  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States.  Born  in  Ireland  on  ^>Iarch  31,  1748,  he  emigrated  to  Virginia 
while  yet  a  young  man.  After  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  he 
removed  with  his  family  to  Western  North  Carolina,  and  settled  on  the 
Swannanoa,  at  the  place  described  as  his  residence  in  the  above  sketch 
of  Captain  Thomas  Foster.  Here  he  lived  for  many  years,  and  here 
he  died  on  April  2,  1830.  In  early  life  he  married  a  Scotch  woman  by 
the  name  of  Elizabeth  Heath.     She  died  October  8,  1827. 

Both  William  Forster  and  his  wife  were  buried  at  the  Newton 
Academy  graveyard,  the  first  persons  buried  there. 

Ephraim  Drake  Harris  was  another  of  the  early  purchasers  of 
lots  in  Morristown.  He  soon  removed,  however,  and  probably  returned 
to  Cabarrus  County,  North  Carolina.  To  him  was  granted  by  the 
State,  on  February  19,  1794,  a  body  of  land  which  now  constitutes  the 
most  eastern  part  of  Asheville,  extending  eastward  from  Valley  Street. 

Samuel  Lusk  was  for  some  while  coroner  of  Buncombe  County. 
In  April,  1799,  he  resigned  that  office  and  was  elected  sheriff.  To  this 
last  place  he  was  annually  re-elected  until  April,  1803. 

James  Brittain  was  the  representative  of  Buncombe  County  in  the 
State  Senate  in  1796,  1797,  1802,  1804,  1805  and  1807. 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  87 

Colonel  William  Davidson  was  the  man  at  whose  house  the  county 
was  organized  as  above  stated.  He  was  a  relative  of  Gen.  William 
Davidson,  who  succeeded  Griffith  Rutherford  in  the  generalship  when 
the  latter  was  captured  at  Camden  and  who  was  killed  on  February 
1,  1781,  at  Cowan's  Ford  of  the  Catawba  River  in  attempting  to 
prevent  Lord  Cornwallis  from  crossing  with  his  army.  Colonel 
William  Davidson  was  also  a  relative  of  the  Samuel  Davidson  who  was 
killed  by  the  Indians  as  above  stated,  and  of  Major  William  Davidson, 
a  brother  of  Samuel  and  who  with  his  brother-in-law,  John  Alexander, 
and  his  nephew,  James  Alexander,  son  of  his  sister  Rachel,  and  with 
Daniel  Smith,  a  son-in-law,  became  among  the  first  settlers  in  Bun- 
combe County.  The  portion  of  it  where  Major  Davidson  settled  was 
then  in  Burke  County  at  the  mouth  of  Bee  Tree. 

Major  William  Davidson  is  sometimes  confounded  with  Colonel 
William  Davidson,  who  was  the  first  representative  of  Buncombe 
County  in  the  State  Senate  to  which  he  was  sent  in  1792,  and  removed 
to  Tennessee  w^here  he  was  prominent  in  public  affairs  and  where  he 
died.  It  was  at  the  house  of  Colonel  William  Davidson  that  Buncombe 
County  was  organized.  Colonel  William  Davidson  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia and  served  in  the  American  cause  through  the  Revolutionary 
War. 

Major  William  Davidson  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  prepara- 
tions made  by  the  North  Carolinians  for  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain. 
These  thwarted  Ferguson  in  his  raid  w^hich  ended  in  that  battle.  Dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  War  Major  William  Davidson  lived  in  what 
became  Burke  County  on  Catawba  River  near  the  towTi  now  called 
Greenlee.  His  place  was  named  The  Glades.  Colonel  Ferguson 
visited  his  home  there  on  the  raid  into  North  Carolina  by  Ferguson, 
which  resulted  in  the  Battle  of  Kings  Mountain  and  in  the  defeat  and 
death  of  that  distinguished  British  officer.  After  that  war.  Major 
William  Davidson  removed  with  some  relatives  and  friends  to  the 
mouth  of  Bee  Tree  Creek  of  Swannanoa  River,  then  in  Burke  County, 
but  now  in  Buncombe  County,  w^here,  in  1784-1785,  they  formed  the 
famous  "Swannanoa  Settlement"  and  where  he  resided  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  and  died  and  is  buried. 


S8  Asheville  and  Bu7icombe  County 

In  1792  Gabriel  Ragsdale  and  Wm.  Brittain  were  Buncombe's 
first  representatives  in  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons  and 
they  continued  to  hold  those  places  in  1793,  1794,  and  1795,  by 
re-elections. 

Colonel  John  Patton  was  born  April  4,  1765,  and  was  one  of 
Buncombe's  first  settlers.  He  removed  to  that  county  while  it  was  yet 
Burke  and  Rutherford  and  settled  first  where  Femihurst  now  stands. 
From  here  he  removed  to  the  Whitson  place,  on  Swannanoa  above  the 
eld  water  works.  After  residing  here  for  some  while  he  returned  to  the 
vicinity  of  his  former  home,  and  bought  and  fixed  his  residence  upon 
the  Colonel  William  Davidson  place,  where  the  first  County  Court  was 
held.  At  this  place  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death  on  March  17, 
1831.  He  it  was  who  formally  opened  on  April  16,  1792,  the  first 
County  Court.  On  the  minutes  of  that  court,  immediately  after  the 
justices  were  sworn  and  took  their  seats,  appears  this  entry: 

"Silence  being  commanded  and  proclamation  being  made  the  court 
was  opened  in  due  and  solemn  form  of  law  by  John  Patton  specialy 
appointed  for  that  purpose." 

At  that  term,  on  the  same  day,  he  was  duly  elected  to  the  then  very 
important  office  of  county  surveyor.  Near  his  new  residence  he  built, 
many  years  ago,  a  bridge  across  the  Swannanoa  River,  which  remained 
until  about  the  beginning  of  the  war  against  the  Southern  States.  His 
house  was  for  many  years  famous  as  a  stopping  place,  being  upon  the 
Buncombe  Turnpike  road,  and  he  raised  here  a  large  family  of 
children,  many  of  whose  descendants  are  yet  living  in  Asheville.  One 
of  his  sons,  the  late  Montraville  Patton,  represented  Buncombe  County 
in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1836,  1838  and  1840,  and  subsequently 
in  1874-1875,  and  after  being  for  many  years  a  citizen  and  prominent 
merchant  of  Asheville,  and  in  later  life  the  clerk  of  the  Inferior  Court 
of  Buncombe  County,  died  in  1896,  highly  respected  by  every  one  who 
knew  him  as  a  kind  hearted  but  determined  man  of  unswerving 
integrity  and  unpretentious  usefulness.  The  late  residence  of  Colonel 
John  Patton  stood  on  the  southern  side  of  the  Swannanoa,  at  the  ford 
about  half  a  mile  above  its  mouth,  until  within  the  last  thirty  years, 
when,  after  bearing  for  some  time  the  name  of  the  Haunted  House,  it 
was  removed  as  being  no  longer  tenantable.    His  wife,  who  was,  before 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  89 

her  marria.G;e,  Miss  Ann  Mallory,  a  Virginian,  was  born  February  12, 
1768,  and  died  on  August  31,  1855.  She,  with  her  husband,  are  buried 
at  Newton  Academy  graveyard. 

Probably  others  of  these  first  settlers  of  Morristown  attained 
prominence  in  the  affairs  of  that  town  and  of  the  County  of  Buncombe, 
and  some  of  them,  as  we  know,  soon  removed  to  distant  places. 

Here  begins  a  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  Asheville.  In  1795, 
Samuel  Ashe  of  New  Hanover  County,  a  brother  of  the  John  Ashe 
who  played  so  important  a  part  in  resisting  the  Stamp  xAct,  was  elected 
governor  of  North  Carolina.  In  his  honor  the  name  of  Morristown 
was  changed  to  Asheville.  This  new  name  became  common  some  time 
before  any  legal  action  upon  the  subject  was  had.  In  fact,  it  had 
become  so  common  by  October,  1795,  that  the  clerk  of  the  County 
Court,  forgetting  for  the  moment  that  in  law  the  town  was  still  Morris- 
town, began  in  the  opening  statement  of  his  minutes  of  that  term,  when 
giving  the  place  where  that  session  was  held,  to  write  the  word 
Asheville,  but  before  completing  it  he  recollected  himself  and  finished 
it  out  as  Morristown.  Subsequently,  in  beginning  his  minutes  of  the 
April  term,  1796,  he  wrote  as  the  place  of  the  court's  session,  the  full 
name  of  Asheville,  but  then  again  recollecting  his  error,  and  before 
he  had  written  another  word,  he  passed  his  pen  through  the  word 
Asheville,  and  wrote  the  word  Morristown.  Finally,  in  July,  1796, 
or  October,  1796,  or  in  January,  April  or  July,  1797,  the  name  of  the 
town  was  duly  changed  from  Morristown  to  Asheville.  This  latter 
name  it  has  ever  since  borne. 

Samuel  Ashe,  for  whom  Asheville  was  named,  was  born  in  North 
Carolina  in  1725;  educated  at  Harvard;  became  a  lawyer;  was  one 
of  thirteen  members  of  the  council  which  governed  North  Carolina 
after  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  and  prior  to  the  adoption 
of  her  first  Constitution,  and  part  of  that  time  president  of  that 
Council  of  Thirteen;  was  a  member  of  the  convention  which  adopted 
that  Constitution;  was  speaker  of  the  Senate  in  the  first  legislature 
which  assembled  under  that  Constitution;  was  by  that  legislature 
elected  presiding  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  which  court 
was  composed  of  three  judges;  and  continued  in  that  office  until  1795 
when  he  became  and  was,  for  three  years,  governor  of  the  State.     He 


90  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

was  a  member  of  that  court  when  it  decided,  in  the  celebrated  case  of 
Bayard  v.  Singleton,  that  an  act  of  the  legislature  was  void  because 
contrary  to  the  Constitution;  and  he  was  governor  when  the  land 
frauds  of  John  Glasgow,  Secretary  of  State,  were  discovered  and 
created  such  a  great  excitement  in  North  Carolina.  At  his  plantation 
on  Rocky  Point  he  died  in  1813. 

Colonel  David  Vance  was  born  at  or  near  Winchester,  Virginia, 
about  1745.  He  was  the  oldest  son  of  Samuel  Vance  and  was 
descended  on  the  paternal  side  from  the  DeVaux  family  of  Normandy, 
the  name  DeVaux  being  corrupted  into  Vance.  About  1774  David 
Vance  came  to  North  Carolina  and  settled  in  what  was  then  Rowan 
County,  on  Catawba  River,  later  Burke  County,  where  he  married 
Priscilla  Brank.  In  the  progress  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  David 
Vance  served  in  the  American  army  in  the  north  and  rose  to  the  rank 
of  ensign  and  was  at  the  battles  of  Brandywine  and  Germantown  and 
at  Valley  Forge.  Later,  in  the  South,  he  saw  service  in  the  same  cause 
at  the  battles  of  Musgrove  Mill  and  Kings  Mountain  and  became  a 
captain.  After  that  war  ended  he  removed  to  what  is  now  Buncombe 
County,  but  was  then  Burke  County,  and  settled  at  what  was  later 
Vanceville  on  upper  Reems  Creek.  In  1786  and  1791  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons  from  Burke  County  and 
in  1791  introduced  in  that  body  a  bill  to  create  the  County  of  Bun- 
combe. In  1792  he  became  and  for  years  continued  to  be  the  clerk  of 
the  County  Court  of  that  new  county,  on  whose  records  his  most 
beautiful  penmanship  appears.  He  and  General  Joseph  McDowell 
and  Mussendine  Matthews  as  commissioners  for  North  Carolina, 
superintended  in  1799  the  running  of  the  line  between  North  Carolina 
and  Tennessee  from  the  southern  border  of  Virginia  southward  across 
Pigeon  River,  It  was  in  consequence  of  some  conversations  while 
engaged  in  that  work  that  he  wrote  recollections  of  the  Battle  of  Kings 
Mountain,  published  many  years  after  his  death.  He  became  a  colonel 
of  militia.  He  died  in  1813  and  was  buried  on  his  farm  in  Reems 
Creek.  Doctor  Robert  B.  Vance,  once  a  representative  in  Congress 
from  Western  North  Carolina,  who  was  killed  in  a  duel  with  Hon. 
Samuel  P.  Carson,  was  a  son  of  Colonel  David  Vance,  and  the  late 
Zebulon  B.   Vance,  governor  of  North  Carolina   and  United  States 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  91 

senator,  the  late  General  Robert  B.  Vance,  Congressman  from  Western 
North  Carolina,  and  the  late  Colonel  Allen  T.  Davidson,  member  from 
Western  North  Carolina  in  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States,  were 
grandsons  of  Colonel  David  Vance. 

A  small  party  of  Cherokees  set  out  from  the  more  western  parts  of 
North  Carolina,  in  the  summer  of  1793,  to  attack  the  white  settlements 
on  Swannanoa  River.  It  seems  that  the  settlers  had  received  some 
warning  of  this  and  were  on  the  lookout.  At  any  rate,  the  attack  was 
not  made.  Simultaneously,  but  without  concert  with  the  North  Caro- 
linians, Colonel  Doherty  and  Colonel  McFarland  had  led  an  invasion 
from  East  Tennessee  of  a  part  of  the  Cherokee  country  which  had 
escaped  incursions  from  the  whites.  With  one  hundred  and  eighty 
mounted  riflemen  they  entered  the  mountains  at  Unaka  Pass  and 
turned  eastwardly,  destroying  six  Cherokee  towns,  and  killing  fifteen 
Indians  and  taking  captive  sixteen  Indian  women  and  children.  They 
were  gone  four  weeks;  and,  by  returning  in  another  w^ay  from  that  by 
which  they  had  entered  the  country,  escaped  an  ambuscade  of  three 
hundred  Cherokees  which  was  awaiting  their  return  at  Unaka  Pass, 
expected  to  be  by  that  same  way  of  entrance  into  the  mountains.  The 
expedition  had  one  man  mortally  wounded  and  three  others  less  seri- 
ously hurt  in  the  two  or  three  night  attacks  made  upon  it  by  the 
Indians.  It  was  contrary  to  the  orders  of  the  Tennessee  territorial  gov- 
ernment, but  probably  prevented  the  contemplated  attack  on  the  Swan- 
nanoa settlements  and  saved  from  destruction  the  village  of  Morristown. 
now  the  City  of  Asheville. 


I 


Chapter  VII 

X  November,  1797,  the  village  of  Asheville  was  incorporated  by 
the  legislature  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  as  "a  town  by  the 
name  of  Ashville,"  in  an  act  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy: 


"Session  of  November,  1797,  Ch.  54. 

"An  Act  establishing  a  town  at  the  court  house  in  the  county  of 
Buncomb. 

"Whereas,  It  is  represented  to  this  General  Assembly  that  the 
establishing  a  town  at  the  court  house  in  Buncomb  county  would  be  of 
great  utility  and  accord  with  the  desire  of  the  inhabitants  of  said 
county,  and  there  being  a  number  of  lots  already  laid  off  at  the  said 
court  house,  and  Zebulon  Baird,  Esq.,  the  proprietor  of  lands  adjoin- 
ing the  same,  having  signified  his  consent  to  lay  off  as  much  more  land 
as  will  amount  to  sixty-three  acres,  including  said  lots  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid. 

"1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  x\ssembly  of  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that 
the  aforesaid  sixty-three  acres  of  land  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  con- 
stituted and  established,  a  town  by  the  name  of  Ashville,  and  that 
John  Jarrett,  Samuel  Chunn,  William  Welch,  George  Swain  and 
Zebulon  Baird,  Esq.,  be  and  they  are  hereby  appointed,  commissioners 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  the  plan  of  said  town  and  dis- 
posing of  the  lots  in  such  a  manner  as  they  or  a  majority  of  them  shall 
think  advisable;  Provided,  nevertheless,  that  nothing  in  this  act  shall 
be  construed  so  as  to  prevent  Zebulon  Baird  from  having  the  power 
and  right  of  executing  titles  of  such  lots  as  are  yet  not  disposed  of. 

"2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that,  in  all  matters  and  things 
relative  to  said  town  a  majority  of  the  commissioners  shall  constitute  a 
quorum,  and  in  case  of  death,  refusal  to  act,  incapacity  or  removal  of 
any  of  them,  the  remaining  commissioners  shall  fill  up  such  vacancies; 
and  that  their  first  meeting  shall  be  held  on  the  fourth  Saturday  in 
January,  next,  when  they  shall  proceed  to  appoint  a  treasurer,  who 
shall  be  of  their  own  bodv,  and  when  chosen  shall  be  considered  as 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  93 

chairman,  and  into  whose  hands  all  monies  collected  for  the  use  of  said 
town  shall  be  paid;  and  he  shall  give  bond  with  sufficient  security, 
payable  to  the  remaining  commissioners  for  the  due  application  and 
accounting  for  all  monies  by  him  received;  and  it  shall  be  considered 
his  duty  to  cause  all  the  laws,  rules  and  regulations  made  for  the  .order 
and  government  of  the  said  town  to  be  carried  into  effect. 

''3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  the  said  commissioners  or  a 
majority  of  them  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  make  such 
bye-laws  and  regulations  as  they  may  think  necessary  for  the  good 
government  of  said  town  and  shall  have  and  possess  the  same  powers 
and  authorities  usually  given  to  like  commissioners,  and  such  rules  and 
regulations  as  they  may  make  shall  be  carried  into  effect  by.  such 
penalties  as  they  may  deem  necessary. 

"4.  And  be  it  further  enacted  that  the  commissioners  aforesaid 
shall  be  empowered  to  lay  a  tax  annually  not  exceeding  the  demands 
necessary  for  said  town,  either  on  the  poll  or  the  value  of  town 
property,  or  both  if  necessary,  which  tax  shall  be  levied  and  collected 
in  such  manner  as  the  said  commissioners  may  direct." 

The  lots  added  by  Zebulon  Baird,  and  referred  to  in  this  statute, 
are  represented  by  a  plat  then  prepared,  a  copy  of  which,  preserved 
by  the  late  Nehemiah  Blackstock  of  Buncombe  County,  and  by  him 
given  to  the  late  Capt.  R.  B.  Johnston,  is  here  shown. 

Plainly,  it  was  not  the  purpose  of  Zebulon  Baird  to  give  to  the 
public  that  additional  land  mentioned  in  this  act,  which  he  "signified 
his  consent  to  lay  off,"  nor  does  it  seem  to  have  been  so  understood  at 
the  time.  In  fact,  at  that  time,  this  land  was  not  entirely  his  own. 
It  belonged  equally  to  him  and  his  brother  Bedent  Baird.  However, 
the  lots  were  laid  off  as  contemplated,  and  were  subsequently  sold  by 
the  heirs  of^bulon  Baird  as  town  lots. 

Thus/on  Januar}'  27,  1798,  the  village  of  Asheville  became  the 
town  of  ''Ashville,"  and  as  such  began  its  existence  as  a  municipal 
corporation.  It  was  still,  however,  a  mountain  settlement,  without 
roads,  unless  the  rude  trails  constructed  and  maintained  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  adjacent  territory  under  the  public  road  law,  could 
be  termed  such,  and  well-nigh  inaccessible  to  the  outside  world/Of 
the  character  of  these  roads  we  shall  say  something  further  on. 


94 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


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Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  95 

Before  passing  to  the  consideration  of  other  matters  a  few  words 
in  relation  to  the  commissioners  appointed  to  launch  this  new  munici- 
pality may  be  not  inappropriate. 

John  Jarrett  was  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Buncombe  County. 
In  later  life  he  lived  on  the  western  bank  of  the  French  Broad  River, 
at  the  place  where  once  the  old  Smith  Bridge  and  now  a  concrete  bridge 
at  Asheville  crosses.  There  had  never  been  a  bridge  across  that  river 
near  Asheville  at  that  time,  however.  Alany  years  before  a  ferry  had 
been  established  at  that  point  by  Edmund  Sams. 

Edmund  Sams  was  one  of  the  settlers  who  came  from  Watauga. 
He  lived  first  at  the  Smith  Bridge  place  just  mentioned  and  later,  on 
the  western  side  of  the  French  Broad  River,  on  that  place  later  known 
as  the  Gaston  place,  about  one  mile,  or  maybe  not  so  far,  above  the 
mouth  of  Swannanoa.  He  had  been,  in  early  life,  an  Indian  fighter. 
On  one  occasion,  when,  in  search  of  some  Indian  depredators,  he  w^as 
passing  through  the  woods  with  a  single  companion,  his  friend  and 
fellow  soldier,  he  heard  a  gun  fire  very  near,  and  turning  saw  that  his 
friend  had  received  a  death  wound.  Supposing  this  to  have  been  done 
by  some  Indian  behind  a  tree,  he  quickly  placed  his  gun  to  his  shoulder 
and  called  out  to  his  dying  companion,  "Where  is  he?"  The  friend 
replied,  "Why,  Edmund,  it  was  your  gun."  This  proved  to  be  correct. 
His  gun  carried  on  his  shoulder  had  been  discharged  by  accident,  and 
had  killed  his  friend  behind  him.  This  event  saddened  the  entire  after 
life  of  ^Ir.  Sams. 

Later  he  was  engaged  as  a  soldier' on  the  American  side  in  the 
Revolutionary  War  and  was  a  captain.  \A'hen  the  County  of  Bun- 
combe was  organized  he  was  elected  its  first  coroner.  Afterwards  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  County  Court.  He  was  for  many  years  a 
trustee  of  Newton  Academy.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he 
resided  upon  the  farm  of  his  son-in-law,  Thomas  Foster,  about  a  fourth 
of  a  mile  above  the  latter's  residence.  He  was  an  eccentric  and  highly 
excitable  old  man.  Exceedingly  fond  of  music,  especially  of  a  martial 
character,  he  used  to  explain  to  one  of  his  little  granddaughters  the 
emotions  which  he  betrayed  when  listening  to  some  lively  tune  by  say- 
ing, 'T  tell  you  what,  my  little  daughter,  it  just  puts  me  on  top  of  Bun- 


96 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  97 

combe."  As  he  grew  older  he  became  very  fond  of  feeding  his  son-in- 
law's  cattle,  and  would  indulge  this  propensity  to  such  an  extent  that 
many  times  the  cattle  were  in  danger  of  being  foundered.  Captain 
Foster  gently  remonstrated  with  the  old  gentleman  on  this  subject,  but 
without  effect.  Some  mornings  when  out  a  little  earlier  than  usual  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  father-in-law's  house,  the  son-in-law  would  hear  the 
old  gentleman  talking  in  reference  to  this  to  a  pet  cow  while  giving  her 
an  unreasonable  quantity  of  food,  and  saying:  ''Hurry  up,  old  lady, 
Tommie's  coming."  In  1824  his  son  Benoni  Sams  was  one  of  Bun- 
combe's representatives  in  the  House  of  Commons,  having  for  his 
colleague  D.  L.  Swain. 

Edmund  Sams  married  Nancy  Young  near  W}1:heville,  Virginia. 
Her  sister,  Martha  Young,  married  William  Gudger,  Senior,  who  also 
removed  to  what  became  Buncombe  County  and  settled  on  Swannanoa 
River  just  below^  the  Old  Water  Works  on  land  now  belonging  to  Mr. 
M.  L.  Reed.  These  Gudgers  became  progenitors  of  the  large  family  of 
Gudgers  and  their  descendants  now  living  in  Western  North  Carolina. 
Although  James  M.  Smith  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  what  after- 
wards became  Buncombe  County,  having  been  born  June  14,  1787, 
yet  James  Gudger,  son  of  William  and  Martha  Gudger,  was  a  little 
older  than  Mr.  Smith,  and  was  the  first  white  citizen  of  that  same 
territory  who  w^as  born  as  such.  On  account  of  danger  from  maraud- 
ing Cherokee  Indians,  Mrs.  Martha  Gudger  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of 
her  oldest  son  James  Gudger,  was  on  a  visit  to  her  parents  in  Virginia. 
This  Mr.  James  Gudger  married  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Robert  Love, 
of  Haywood  County,  and  lived  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  County 
of  Buncombe,  which  he  represented  in  the  State  Senate  of  North  Caro- 
lina in  1830  and  1836. 

As  has  been  remarked  above,  Edmund  Sams  was  remarkably  fond 
of  military  music.  He  was  also  fond  of  church  music,  which,  in  his 
day,  was  usually  sung  in  a  drawling  time  "in  linked  sweetness  long 
drawn  out."  Once  a  singing  master  visited  his  neighborhood  and 
taught  a  singing  school.  The  choir  of  young  people  trained  at  this 
school  sang  a  "voluntary"  at  a  church  service  which  Captain  Sams 
attended  accompanied  by  a  little  great-granddaughter.  The  singing 
master  led  in  singing  this  "voluntary"  and  sang  in  better  time  than 


98  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

was  common  in  the  church  gatherings,  but  not  without  consternation 
on  the  part  of  most  of  the  congregation.  Captain  Sams  listened  in 
amazement.  When  the  song  had  been  finished  he  turned  to  his  little 
girl  companion  and  exclaimed:  ''Well,  upon  my  soul,  my  little 
daughter,  that  was  a  merry  little  jig!'' 

When  John  Jarrett  bought  the  Sams  ferry  he  kept  it  for  many  years 
as  a  toll  ferry,  and  it  became  known  as  Jarrett's  Ferry.  Subsequently 
he  sold  it  with  the  adjoining  land  to  the  late  James  M.  Smith,  who 
built  a  bridge  at  the  place,  which  was  known  for  many  years,  and  up 
till  a  very  late  period,  as  Smith's  Bridge.  This  he  continued  to  keep  up 
as  a  toll  bridge  until  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  when  he  sold  the  bridge 
to  the  county,  by  which  it  was  made  a  public  or  county  bridge.  The 
eastern  end  of  the  bridge  was  somewhat  higher  up  the  river  than  the 
eastern  end  of  the  iron  bridge  which  succeeded  it,  but  the  western  ends 
of  the  two  were  at  the  same  place.  In  1881  this  bridge  was  removed  to 
make  room  for  an  iron  structure,  which  was  destroyed  by  a  flood  in 
1916,  but  its  old  foundations  were  yet  plainly  to  be  seen  for  many 
years. 

Samuel  Chunn  was  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Asheville.  Here 
he  kept  a  hotel  at  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  public  square,  where 
afterwards  stood  the  building  occupied  for  many  years  by  Asheville's 
first  bank,  the  Asheville  Branch  of  the  Bank  of  Cape  Fear,  and  still 
later  by  the  Bank  of  Asheville,  and  afterward  by  the  Western  Hotel, 
and  yet  more  recently  by  the  First  National  Bank  of  Asheville.  This 
building  was  removed  by  its  owner.  Captain  Thos.  D.  Johnston,  in 
1885,  in  order  to  give  place  to  his  corner  brick  store  and  office  building 
now  standing  there.  Samuel  Chunn  also  engaged  for  many  years  at 
Asheville  in  the  business  of  tanning  leather.  His  tanyard  was  on 
Glenn's  Creek  at  the  place  where  Merrimon  Avenue,  for  many  years 
called  Beaverdam  Road  and  until  lately  Beaverdam  Street,  crosses  it, 
about  one  hundred  yards  from  the  junction  of  that  street  with  North 
Main  Street.  In  October,  1806,  he  was  made  the  chairman  of  Bun- 
combe County  Court,  and  in  January,  1807,  was  appointed  jailer  at 
Asheville.  He  was  the  original  grantee  from  the  State  of  the  greater 
part  of  what  is  now  called  Sunset  or  Town  ^Mountain,  and  owned 
land  on  i)oth  side  of  that  mountain.     From  him  as  the  owner  of  the 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  99 

upper  part  of  the  valley  of  Ross's  Creek  next  beyond  the  mountain 
east  of  Asheville,  Chunn's  Cove  took  its  name.  In  later  life,  Samuel 
Chunn  lived  on  the  bank  of  the  French  Broad  River  at  the  Chunn 
place  in  Madison  County.  His  wife  was  Mrs.  Hannah  Chunn.  He 
accumulated  a  large  estate,  which  he  left  to  his  children  at  his  death 
in  November,  1855.  His  descendants  now  reside  in  Buncombe  County, 
in  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  at  other  places  in  the  United  States.  In 
1846  one  of  his  sons,  the  late  A.  B.  Chunn,  was  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Commons  from  Buncombe  County. 

William  Welch,  or  William  Welsh  as  he  wrote  it,  was  at  one  time 
a  member  of  Buncombe  County  Court,  and  in  January,  1805,  was 
elected  and  qualified  as  coroner  of  that  county.  He  was  at  one  time 
interested  in  lands  lying  in  Asheville,  and  on  what  are  now  known  as 
Haywood  and  Depot  Streets. 

George  Swain  was  born  at  Roxborough,  Massachusetts,  on  June 
17,  1763.  He  was  a  hatter.  On  September  1,  1784,  he  invested  what 
property  he  had  been  able  to  accumulate  in  provisions  and  set  out  with 
his  merchandise  from  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  for  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  On  the  voyage  a  storm  arose,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
throw  overboard  most  of  the  cargo.  He  landed  at  Charleston  with 
nothing,  and  walked  from  there  to  Augusta,  Georgia.  Here  he  lived 
for  a  year.  Then  he  moved  to  Wilkes,  after  Oglethorpe,  County,  in 
that  State,  where  he  engaged  in  his  business  of  hat  making.  He  served 
as  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  that  State  for  five  years,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  held  at  Louisville  about 
1795.  In  the  latter  year  he  removed  to  Buncombe  County,  and  settled 
in  or  near  Asheville.  Soon  afterwards  he  married  Caroline  Lowrie,  a 
widow  whose  husband  had  been  killed  by  the  Indians,  and  who  was  a 
sister  of  Joel  Lane,  the  founder  of  the  city  of  Raleigh,  and  of  Jesse 
Lane,  the  father  of  Gen.  Joe  Lane,  late  United  States  Senator  from 
Oregon  and  governor  thereof,  and  Democratic  candidate  for  vice- 
president  on  the  ticket  with  General  John  C.  Breckenridge  in  1860. 
General  Joseph  Lane  himself  was  born  in  Buncombe  County  near 
Ashe\alle,  on  December  14,  1801. 

In  the  early  part  of  his  residence  in  Buncombe,  George  Swain  lived 
at  the  head  of  Beaverdam,  on  the  place  where  the  late  Thomas  Stradley 


100  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

resided  and  died.  Here  was  born,  on  January  4,  1801,  his  second  son, 
David  Lowrie  Swain,  afterwards  famous  as  judge,  governor  and  Uni- 
versity president  in  North  Carolina.  Here  the  future  governor  saw  the 
first  wagon  which  he  had  ever  beheld,  being  the  first  ever  in  Buncombe 
County.  It  was  brought  to  the  house  of  his  father,  up  the  washed  out 
channel  of  the  creek,  for  there  w^as  then  no  road  in  Buncombe  County 
large  enough  for  a  wagon  to  travel.  Of  this  event  the  late  Governor 
Vance  says:  "The  future  governor  of  North  Carolina  stood  in  the 
orchard  waiting  its  approach  with  wonder  and  awe,  and  finally,  as  its 
thunder  reverberated  in  his  ears  as  it  rolled  over  the  rocky  channel  of 
the  creek,  he  incontinently  took  to  his  heels,  and  only  rallied  when 
safely  entrenched  behind  his  father's  house.  He  enjoyed  the  relation 
of  this  to  me  exquisitely." 

The  residence  of  George  Swain  at  this  place  was  a  log  double 
cabin.  About  1805  a  post  route  was  established  on  the  recently  con- 
structed road  through  Buncombe  County,  which  soon  became  the  thor- 
oughfare for  travel  from  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  to  the  western 
States.  In  1806,  the  postoffice  at  Asheville  was  made  the  distributing 
office  for  Georgia,  Tennessee  and  the  two  Carolinas.  George  Swain 
became  in  1806,  the  postmaster  at  Asheville,  although  his  commission 
did  not  issue  until  January,  1807.  This  office  he  continued  to  hold  for 
twenty  years  or  more.  In  all  that  time  he  was  never  absent  at  the 
arrival  of  a  mail,  and  always  distributed  the  letters  with  his  own  hands. 
He  was  a  large  man  with  no  claim  to  good  looks,  but  possessed  a  most 
remarkable  memory.  It  is  said  that,  "he  could  repeat  the  entire  book 
of  Genesis,  and  was  so  familiar  with  the  sacred  volume  that  on  the 
first  verse  of  any  chapter  being  read  he  was  ordinarily  able  to  repeat 
the  second,  and  if  he  failed  to  do  so  would  turn  to  it  in  a  minute."  For 
many  years  he  was  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Gov- 
ernor Swain  said  that  his  father  was  a  Presbyterian  and  an  Arminian 
and  his  mother  was  a  Methodist  and  a  Calvinist. 

George  Swain  was  a  trustee  of  the  Newton  Academy.  While  post- 
master he  resided  at  Asheville.  After  his  removal  to  that  place  he  was 
engaged  for  a  while  in  his  old  business  of  making  hats,  which  he 
conducted  at  a  place  just  beyond  the  corporate  limits  of  the  city,  on 
the  eastern  side  of  Charlotte  Street,  known  for  many  years  by  reason 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  101 

of  the  business  there  carried  on  b}'  him  and  afterwards  by  his  son-in- 
law,  the  late  William  Coleman,  as  the  Hatter-shop,  and  which  was 
occupied  for  many  years  by  the  late  Baccus  J.  Smith,  and  now  in  Grove 
Park.  Mr.  Swain  owned  miich  land  adjoining  this  place,  and  also 
several  town  lots.  During  his  residence  in  Asheville  he  lived  on  the 
eastern  side  of  South  Main  Street,  where  now  stand  the  business  build- 
ings from  that  once  occupied  as  Grant's  Pharmacy  southward  to  the 
former  Racket  Store,  inclusive.  The  old  brick  store  house,  years  ago 
removed  from  the  site  of  what  was  once  Stoner's  Racket  Store,  belonged 
to  him,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  oldest  brick  building  in  Asheville. 
In  its  construction  were  used,  besides  the  bricks  of  ordinary  size, 
many  bricks  twice  as  large.  George  Swain  lived  long  enough  to  witness 
the  beginning  of  his  famous  son's  career,  but  died  before  it  reached 
its  zenith,  on  December  24,  1829,  at  Asheville,  and  is  buried  in  the 
Newton  Academy  graveyard.  For  some  time  before  his  death  he  was 
insane. 

Of  Zebulon  Baird  we  have  already  spoken. 

ROADS 

Most  of  the  work  done  at  the  earlier  sessions  of  the  County  Court 
of  Buncombe  related  to  laying  out  and  working  roads.  These  roads  or 
trails,  rude  and  rough,  narrow  and  steep  as  they  were,  constituted  the 
only  means  of  communication  between  the  scattered  settlers  of  this 
new  county,  and  were  matters  of  first  importance  to  its  people  ^Th^ 
were  located  by  unlettered  hunters  and  farmers,  who  knew  not^in.  of 

lon  for  their  labor  and  could  ill  afford  to  spare  time  from  the  support 
and  protection  of  their  families.  Roving  bands  of  Indians  constantly 
gave  annoyance  to  the  white  settlers,  and  frequently  when  they  found 

children  into  taking  refuge  in  the  woods,  and  then  burn  the  furniture 
and  destroy  the  bedding  which  they  found  in  the  house.    Many  we 

ea  ly  seCr  T'^^^  ''  '  ''''  ^^  ^  ^^^^  --^^>^  -^-ed  b/thes 

the  hands  of  these  predatory  savages.     We  can  scarcely  wonder  that 


102  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

they  saw  in  the  red  man  none  of  the  romantic  features  of  character 
which  their  descendants  are  so  fond  of  attributing  to  him.  This  state 
of  affairs  continued  even  up  into  the  last  century. 

On    the    second    day    of    its    first    session    the    County    Court 
ordered    a   jur}'   to  lay   off   a   road   from    Colonel    William    David- 
son's   on    Swannanoa    to    Benjamin    Davidson's    Creek    (Davidson's 
River),   which   crossed    French    Broad    a   little   below   the  mouth   of 
Avery's  Creek,  passed  Mills  River,  and  went  up  Boydsteens  (now  in- 
correctly called  Boilston)  Creek;    and  another  jurs-  "to  lay  off  a  road 
from  the  wagon  ford  of  Rims  Creek  to  Join  the  road  from  the  Turkey 
Cove,  Catawba,  to  Robert  Henton's  on  Lindsey's  Creek  Cane  River," 
and  appointed  an  "overseer  of  the  road  from  the  mouth  of  Swannanoa 
to  Rims  Creek."     This  last  mentioned  road  passed  through  Asheville. 
It  ran  from  the  Gum  Spring  place  across  Swannanoa  northwardly  by 
way  of  William  Forster's  and  in  rear  of  the  Middleton  place,  now 
St.  Dunstan's  Road  and  once  owned  by  James  M.  Campbell,  passed 
through  the  front  yard  of  the  Perry  residence,  and  joined  the  present 
road  at  the  top  of  the  hill  east  of  the  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute. 
Thence  it  followed  the  line  of  South  ^lain  Street,  with  slight  diver- 
gencies to  the  left  at  places,  until  it  reached  the  Public  Square.     Here, 
turning  in  the  direction  of  Battery  Park,  it  passed  down  Patton  Avenue 
until  near  the  Temple  Court  building,  then  through  the  site  of  this 
building  directly  to  the  top  of  the  hill  at  the  southern  end  of  Battery 
Park  hotel.      From   this  point  it  turned  north   again,   and,  crossing 
Montford  Avenue  at  the  public  school  building,  ran  west  of  it  until  it 
came  to  Pearson's  Drive,  which  it  followed  with  one  divergence  to  the 
west,  until  it  reached  the  place  where  now  stands  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Theodore  S.  Morrison.     Passing  through  his  yard  to  the  east  of 
his  house  it  went  on  down  the  ridge  which  lies  to  the  west  and  across 
the  ridge  from  the  residence  of  Mr.  J.  E.  Rumbough  until  it  reached  the 
present  road  at  the  northern  end  of  Riverside  Drive  at  Glenn's  Creek. 
This  road  it  followed  for  a  short  distance,  when  it  turned  to  the  east 
and  joined  the  Burn.sville  Road  about  halfway  up  the  Burnsville  Hill. 
Thence  it  kept  with  the  Burnsville  Road,  with  some  deviations  to  the 
east  at  the  old  Reynolds  place,  until  near  Reem's  Creek  it  left  this 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  103 

road  and  crossed  the  creek  at  the  ford  spoken  of  above,  about  midway 

between  the  iron  bridge  and  Coleman's  Mill. 

Thus  from  time  to  time  roads  were  established  in  early  days.     In 

July,  1793,  the  Court  directed  a  road  to  be  laid  off  "from  Buncombe 

Courthouse  to  the  Bull  Mountain  Road  near  Robt.  Love's."  This  road 
left  the  road  which  we  have  just  described  at  the  top  of  the  hill  near 
the  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute,  and  followed  for  some  distance 
the  road  which  now  turns  off  at  that  point  to  go  to  Kenilworth.  It 
passed  around  the  southern  side  of  the  mountain,  and  crossed  the  road 
through  Beaucatcher  Gap  to  the  Swannanoa,  near  the  entrance  of  the 
Haw  Creek  Road.  Thence  following  this  last  road  to  the  creek,  it 
passed  up  the  creek  and  partly  in  it  and  across  "Bull's  Gap."  In 
April,  1795,  a  road  was  ordered  by  the  Court  "from  the  courthouse  to 
Jonathan  McPeter's  on  Hominy  Creek."  This  road  left  the  road  first 
described  on  top  of  Battery  Park  hill,  and  passing  southward  through 
the  Thomas  property,  now  Grove  Street  lying  immediately  west  of 
Bailey  Street,  now  Ashland  Avenue,  it  crossed  Grove  Street  and  French 
Broad  x\ venue  to  the  old  Judge  Bailey  place,  now  Aston  Park,  thence 
to  the  Melke  house,  above  French  Broad  River,  and  down  the  hill  to 
the  present  bridge. 

At  a  later  period  the  road  from  Asheville  northward  was  changed 
so  as  to  run  down  North  :Main  Street  nearly  and  through  the  property 
of  the  late  Captain  M.  J.  Fagg  crossing  Chestnut  Street  about  200 
yards  east  of  North  Main  Street,  until  it  ran  into  East  Street  a  little 
south  of  the  crossing  of  Seney  Street.  Thence  it  went  with  East  Street 
to  Hillside  Street,  passed  through  the  Witchwood  house  site,  and  down 
the  ridge  within  a  few  feet  west  of  Vivian  Avenue,  till  it  crossed  Glenn's 
Creek,  where  its  sign  is  still  to  be  seen.  Thence  it  passed  up  the  hill 
beyond,  and  turning  a  little  to  the  left  ran  down  a  hollow  east  of  the 
fortified  hill,  where  the  battle  was  fought  in  the  late  war,  until  it 
joined  the  present  road  down  the  French  Broad  at  the  first  hollow 
below  the  mouth  of  Glenn's  Creek,  now  at  the  Casket  Plant. 

The  Beaverdam  Road  ran  along  Charlotte  Street,  or  very  near  it, 
until  it  reached  the  northern  end  of  the  Kimberly  place,  whence  turn- 
ing westward  it  passed  north  of  the  Kimberly  Mountain  and  so  on  by 
Grace  to  Beaverdam  Creek. 


104  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

From  a  place  near  Grace  a  branch  road  from  this  Beaverdam 
Road  passed  down  Beaverdam  Creek  to  the  old  Wilson  place  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  cre*ek,  just  above  the  old  Wilson,  or  more  lately 
Howell,  mill  pond,  and  passed  possibly  across  the  hills  to  the  old 
Warm  Springs  Road  at  or  near  the  old  Daniel  Re\Tiolds  house,  by 
which  the  last  mentioned  road  then  ran,  although  that  road  has 
been  since  changed  so  as  to  pass  down  Beaverdam  Creek  to  the  mouth 
of  Park's  Branch  and  thus  leave  this  old  house  to  the  east.  This  road 
which  so  branches  off  from  the  Beaverdam  Road  was  at  one  time  called 
the  Warm  Springs  Road,  and  may  have  been  travelled  in  going  to  the 
Warm  Springs  before  the  older  road  over  Battery  Park  hill  was 
travelled  in  going  to  that  place.  This  is,  however,  not  probable.  Both 
ways  united  near  the  present  ford  of  Beaverdam  Creek  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  old  house  just  mentioned,  and  passed  by  it  and  joined  the 
present  Weaverville  Road  about  a  half  mile  beyond.  Then  the  old 
Warm  Springs  Road  ran  with  this  last  road  to  the  top  of  the  hill  at 
the  residence  of  Zebulon  Baird.  At  this  place  it  passed  to  the  west  of 
his  residence,  crossed  Reems  Creek  at  the  old  Wagoner  Ford,  ran  by 
the  house  of  the  late  John  Weaver  and  through  the  rear  of  the  old 
Alexander  Farm,  crossed  Flat  Creek  and  ran  to  the  farm  of  Bedent 
Smith  near  the  Madison  County  line.  Here  it  again  turned  to  the 
west  and  ran  to  the  mouth  of  Ivy.  From  this  place  it  ran  on  to 
Marshall  and  about  one-half  mile  below^  that  town  turned  to  the  east 
and  ran  with  the  old  Hopewell  Turnpike  built  by  Philip  Hoodenpile. 
later  knowTi  as  the  Jewel  Hill  Road,  to  Warm  Springs,  now  Hot 
Springs.  At  the  place  where  it  left  the  Weaverville  road  at  Zebulon 
Baird's  was  the  residence  of  Bedent  Baird  before  mentioned.  At  this 
old  house,  just  behind  the  present  or  recent  residence  of  Zebulon  Baird, 
Bedent  Baird  lived  and  there  his  brother  Zebulon  Baird  fell  from  his 
horse  and  died. 

On  July  8,  1795,  Governor  Blount  of  the  Territory  south  of  the 
River  Ohio,  now  called  Tennessee,  submitted  to  the  Council  of  that 
territory  "several  papers  respecting  the  opening  of  a  wagon  road  from 
Buncombe  Courthouse  in  North  Carolina  to  this  Territory."  The 
Council  appointed  Messrs.  Sevier  and  Taylor,  with  whom  the  House 
associated  Messrs.  Wear,  Cocke,  Doherty  and  Taylor,  to  consider  and 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  105 

report  upon  this  question.  The  committee  reported  recommending  the 
appointment  of  three  Commissioners  "to  meet  three  Commissioners 
from  the  State  of  South  Carolina  to  deliberate  and  consult  on  measures 
for  the  purpose  of  cutting  and  opening  a  road  through  the  eastern 
mountains,  and  report  unto  our  next  General  Assembly  the  result  of 
their  conference;  and  also  the  practicability  and  probable  expense  of 
cutting  and  opening  the  said  road  the  nearest  and  best  route  through 
the  mountains.-'  The  Warm  Springs  on  the  French  Broad  had  been 
discovered  in  1778  by  Henry  Reynolds  and  Thomas  Morgan,  two  men 
kept  out  in  advance  of  the  settlement  to  watch  the  movements  of  the 
Indians.  They  had  followed  some  stolen  horses  to  the  point  opposite, 
and  leaving  their  own  horses  on  the  north  bank,  waded  across  the  river. 
On  the  southern  shore  in  passing  through  a  little  branch  they  were 
surprised  to  find  the  water  warm.  "The  next  year,"  says  Ramsey,  "the 
Warm  Springs  were  resorted  to  by  invalids." 

James  M.  Edney,  in  his  Sketches  of  Buncombe  Men  in  Bennett's 
Chronology  of  North  Carolina,  written  in  1855,  says:  "Col.  J.  Barnett 
settled  on  the  French  Broad  seventy  years  ago  and  was  the  first  man  to 
pilot  or  navigate  wagons  through  Buncombe  by  putting  the  two  big 
wheels  on  the  lower  side,  sometimes  pulling,  sometimes  pushing,  and 
sometimes  carrying  the  wagon  at  a  charge  of  five  dollars  for  work  and 
labor  done." 

The  Bairds  had  carried  up  their  four-wheel  wagon  across  the 
Saluda  Gap  in  1793.  This  Saluda  Gap  Road  was  opened  by  Colonel 
Earle  for  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  at  the  sum  of  four  thousand 
dollars.  This  is  in  all  probability  the  old  road  from  Columbia,  South 
Carolina,  which  passed  through  Newberry  and  Greenville  districts, 
crossing  the  Air  Line  at  Greer's  Station,  as  the  place  is  now  called,  and 
extending  across  the  Saluda  Gap  by  Asheville,  down  the  French  Broad 
River  into  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and  is  yet  known  in  northern  South 
Carolina  as  the  old  State  Road  or  more  commonly  the  old  Buncombe 
Road.  There  was  already  a  road  or  trail  coming  from  the  direction  of 
South  Carolina  to  Asheville,  which  passed  the  Swannanoa  at  the  Gum 
Spring  heretofore  mentioned,  and  was  known  as  the  "road  from 
Augusta  in  Georgia  to  Knoxville."     (Record  Book  62,  page  361.) 

Wheeler  says  that  "the  first  wagon  passed  from  North  Carolina 
to  Tennesse  by  the  Warm  Springs  in  1795." 


Chapter  VIII 

ASBURY'S  VISITS 

HIS  was  the  situation  of  the  town  of  Asheville  when  it  became 
a  municipality  in  its  relation  to  the  outside  world,  and  such 
were  its  means  of  communication  with  other  parts  inhabited  by 
civilized  man.  In  the  year  1800,  Bishop  Francis  Asbury  began  to 
include  the  French  Broad  Valley  in  his  annual  visits  throughout  the 
eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  which  extended  as  far  west  as  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee.  The  following  extracts  from  his  "Journal"  will 
not  be  out  of  place  just  here : 

On  Thursday,  November  6,  1800,  and  the  following  days,  we  find 
this  entry:  "Thursday  6.  Crossed  Nolachucky  at  Querton's  Ferry, 
and  came  to  Major  Craggs,  18  miles.  I  next  day  pursued  my  journey 
and  arrived  at  the  Warm  Springs,  not  however  without  an  ugly 
accident.  After  we  had  crossed  the  Small  and  Great  Paint  mountain, 
and  had  passed  about  thirty  yards  beyond  the  Paint  Rock,  my  roan 
horse,  lead  by  Mr.  O'Haven,  reeled  and  fell  over,  taking  the  chaise 
with  him;  I  was  called  back,  when  I  beheld  the  poor  beast  and  the 
carriage  bottom  up,  lodged  and  wedged  against  a  sapling,  which  alone 
prevented  them  both  being  precipitated  into  the  river.  After  a  pretty 
heavy  lift  all  was  righted  again,  and  we  were  pleased  to  find  there 
was  little  damage  done.  Our  feelings  were  excited  more  for  others 
than  ourselves.  Not  far  off  we  saw  clothing  spread  out,  part  of  the 
loading  of  household  furniture  of  a  wagon  which  had  overset  and  was 
thrown  into  the  stream,  and  bed  clothes,  bedding,  &c.,  were  so  wet  that 
the  poor  people  found  it  necessary  to  dry  them  on  the  spot.  We 
passed  the  side  fords  of  French-Broad,  and  came  to  Mr.  Nelson's; 
our  mountain  march  of  twelve  miles  calmed  us  down  for  this  day.  My 
company  was  not  agreeable  here — there  were  too  many  subjects  of  the 
two  great  potentates  of  this  western  world — whisky,  brandy.  My  mind 
was  greatly  distressed. 

"North  Carolina.— Saturday  8,  1800.  We  started  away.  The 
cold  was  severe  upon  the  fingers.     We  crossed  the  ferry,  curiously 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  107 

contrived  with  a  rope  and  poles,  for  half  a  mile  along  the  banks  of  the 
river,  to  guide  the  boat  by.  And  O  the  rocks !  the  rocks !  Coming  to 
Laurel-River,  we  followed  the  wagon  ahead  of  us — the  wagon  stuck 
fast.  Brother  O'H.  mounted  old  grey — the  horse  fell  about  midway, 
I'Ut  recovered,  rose,  and  went  safely  through  with  his  burden.  We 
pursued  our  way  rapidly  to  Ivey  Creek,  suffering  much  from  heat  and 
the  roughness  of  the  roads,  and  stopped  at  William  Hunter's. 

"Sabbath  day,  9.  We  came  to  Thomas  Foster's  and  held  a  small 
meeting  at  his  house.  We  must  bid  farewell  to  the  chaise;  this  mode 
of  conveyance  by  no  means  suits  the  roads  of  this  wilderness ;  we  were 
obliged  to  keep  one  behind  the  carriage  with  a  strap  to  hold  by,  and 
prevent  accidents  almost  continually.  I  have  health  and  hard  labor, 
and  a  constant  sense  of  the  favor  of  God. 

"Tobias  Gibson  had  given  notice  to  some  of  my  being  at  Bun- 
comb  courthouse,  and  the  society  at  Killyon's,  in  consequence  of  this, 
made  an  appointment  for  me  on  Tuesday,  11.  We  were  strongly 
importuned  to  stay,  which  Brother  Whatcoat  felt  inclined  to  do.  In 
the  meantime  we  had  our  horses  shod  by  Philip  Smith ;  this  man,  as  is 
not  infrequently  the  case  in  this  country,  makes  wagons  and  works  at 
carpentry,  makes  shoes  for  men  and  for  horses;  to  which  he  adds,  occa- 
sionally, the  manufacture  of  saddles  and  hats. 

"Monday,  10.  Visited  Squire  Swains's  agreeable  family.  On 
Tuesday  we  attended  our  appointment.  My  foundation  for  a  sermon 
was  Hebr.  ii,  1.  We  had  about  eighty  hearers;  among  them  was  Mr. 
Newton,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  who  made  the  concluding  prayer. 
We  took  up  our  journey  and  came  to  Foster's  upon  Swansico 
f  Swannanoa] — company  enough,  and  horses  in  a  drove  of  thirty-three. 
Here  we  met  Francis  Poythress — sick  of  Carolina,  and  in  the  clouds. 
I,  too,  was  sick.  Next  morning  we  rode  to  Fletcher's,  on  Mud  Creek. 
The  people  being  unexpectedly  gathered  together,  w^e  gave  them  a 
sermon  and  an  exhortation.     W'e  lodged  at  Fletcher's. 

"Thursday,  13.  We  crossed  French  Broad  at  Kim's  Ferry,  forded 
Mills  River,  and  made  upwards  through  the  barrens  of  Broad  to  David- 
son's, whose  name  names  the  stream.  The  aged  mother  and  daughter 
insisted  upon  giving  notice  for  a  meeting;  in  consequence  thereof 
Mr.  Davis,  the  Presbvterian  minister,  and  several  others,  came  together. 


108  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Brother  Whatcoat  was  taken  with  a  bleeding  at  the  nose,  so  that  neces- 
sity was  laid  upon  me  to  lecture:    my  subject  was  Luke  xi,  13. 

"Friday,  14.  We  took  our  leave  of  French  Broad — the  lands  flat 
and  good,  but  rather  cold.  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  making  a 
tolerably  correct  survey  of  this  river.  It  rises  in  the  southwest,  and 
winds  along  in  many  meanders,  fifty  miles  notheast,  receiving  a 
number  of  tributary  streams  in  its  course;  it  then  inclines  westward, 
passing  through  Buncomb  in  North  Carolina,  and  Green  and 
Dandridge  counties  in  Termessee,  in  which  last  it  is  augmented  by  the 
waters  of  Nolachucky.  Four  miles  above  Knoxville  it  forms  a  junction 
with  the  Holston,  and  their  united  waters  flow  along  under  the  name 
of  Tennessee,  giving  a  name  to  the  State.  We  had  no  small  labor  in 
getting  dowTi  Saleuda  mountain." 

In  October,  1801,  we  find  this  entry: 

"Monday,  October  5.  We  parted  in  great  love;  our  company 
made  twelve  miles  to  Isaiah  Harrison's,  and  next  day  reached  the 
Warm  Springs  upon  French  Broad-River. 

"Wednesday,  7.  We  made  a  push  from  Buncomb  courthouse; 
man  and  beast  felt  the  mighty  hills.  I  shall  calculate  from  Baker's  to 
this  place  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles;  from  Philadelphia,  eight 
hundred  and  twenty  miles. 

"Friday,  9.    Yesterday  and  today  we  rest  at  George  Swain's. 

"Sabbath  day,  11.  Yesterday  and  today  held  quarterly  meeting 
at  Daniel  Killions's,  near  Buncomb  courthouse.  I  spoke  from  Isai. 
vii,  6,  7  and  I  Cor.  \di,  1.    We  had  some  quickenings. 

"Monday,  12.  We  came  to  Murroughs,  upon  Mud  Creek;  here 
we  had  a  sermon  from  N.  Snethen  on  Acts  xiv,  15.  Myself  and  James 
Douthat  gave  an  exhortation.  We  had  very  warm  weather  and  a  long 
ride.  At  Major  Britain's,  near  the  mouth  of  Mills  River,  we  found  a 
lodging. 

"Tuesday,  13.  We  came  in  haste  up  to  elder  Davidson's,  re- 
freshed man  and  beast,  commended  the  family  to  God,  and  then  struck 
into  the  mountain.  The  want  of  sleep,  and  other  inconveniences,  made 
me  unwell.  We  came  down  Seleuda  River,  near  Selcuda  Mountain; 
it  tried  my  lame  feet   and  old  feeble  joints,   French   Broad,  in  its 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  109 

meanderings,  is  nearly  two  hundred  miles  long;  the  line  of  its  course 
is  semi-circular;  its  waters  are  pure,  rapid,  and  its  bed  generally  rocky; 
except  the  Blue  Ridge;    it  passes  through  all  the  western  mountains." 

Again  in  November,  1802,  we  find  this  entyy: 

"Wednesday,  3.  We  labored  over  the  Ridge  and  the  Paint  Moun- 
tain; I  held  on  awhile,  but  grew  afraid  and  dismounted,  and  with  the 
help  of  a  pine  sapling,  worked  my  way  down  the  steepest  and  roughest 
part.  I  could  bless  God  for  life  and  limbs.  Eighteen  miles  this  day 
contented  us;  and  we  stopped  at  William  Nelson's,  Warm  Springs. 
About  thirty  travellers  having  dropped  in  I  expounded  the  Scriptures 
to  them,  as  found  in  the  third  chapter  of  Romans,  as  equally  applicable 
to  nominal  Christians,  Indians,  Jews  and  Gentiles. 

''Thursday,  4.  We  came  off  about  the  rising  of  the  sun — cold 
enough.  There  were  six  or  seven  heights  to  pass  over,  at  the  rate  of 
five,  two  or  one  mile  an  hour — as  this  ascent  or  descent  would  permit ; 
four  hours  brought  us  to  the  end  of  twelve  miles  to  dinner,  at  Barnett's 
station;  whence  w^e  pushed  on  to  John  [Thomas]  Foster's,  and  after 
making  twenty  miles  more,  came  in  about  the  going  do\\Ti  of  the  sun. 
On  Friday  and  Saturday  we  visited  from  house  to  house. 

"Sunday,  7.  We  had  preaching  at  Killon's.  William  and 
M'Kendree  went  forward  upon  'As  many  as  are  lead  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God';  my  subject  was  Hebr.  iii,  12,  13.  On 
Monday  I  parted  from  dear  William  M'Kendree.  I  made  for  Mr. 
Fletcher's,  upon  Mud  Creek;  he  received  me  with  great  attention,  and 
the  kind  offer  of  everything  in  the  house  necessary  for  the  comfort  of 
man  and  beast.  W^e  could  not  be  prevailed  on  to  tarry  for  the  night, 
so  we  set  off  after  dinner  and  he  accompanied  us  several  miles  We 
housed  for  the  night  at  the  widow  Johnson's.  I  was  happy  to  find  that 
in  the  space  of  two  years,  God  had  manifested  his  goodness  and  his 
power  in  the  hearts  of  many  upon  the  solitary  banks  and  isolated 
glades  of  French  Broad;  some  subjects  of  grace  there  were  before, 
amongst  Methodists,  Presbyterians  and  Baptists.  On  Tuesday  I  dined 
at  Benjamin  Davidson's,  a  house  I  had  lodged  and  preached  at  two 
years  ago.  We  labored  along  eighteen  mountain  miles;  eight  ascent, 
on  the  west  side,  and  as  many  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountain.    The 


no  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

descent  of  Seleuda  exceeds  all  I  know,  from  the  Province  of  Maine  to 
Kentucky  and  Cumberland;  I  had  dreaded  it,  fearing  I  should  not 
be  able  to  walk  or  ride  such  steeps;  nevertheless,  with  time,  patience, 
labor,  two  sticks  and,  above  all,  a  good  Providence,  I  came  in  about 
five  o'clock  to  ancient  father  John  Douthat's,  Greenville  County,  South 
Carolina."  vJ 

On  October,  1803,  we  meet  with  this  entry: 

"North  Carolina.  On  Monday,  we  came  off  in  earnest;  refreshed 
at  Isaiah  Harrison's,  and  continued  on  to  the  Paint  mountain,  passing 
the  gap  newly  made,  which  makes  the  road  down  to  Paint  Creek  much 
better.  I  lodged  with  ^Ir.  Nelson,  who  treated  me  like  a  minister,  a 
Christian,  and  a  gentleman. 

"Tuesday,  25.  We  reached  Buncombe.  The  road  is  greatly 
mended  by  changing  the  direction,  and  throwing  a  bridge  over  Iv>\ 

"Wednesday,  26.  We  called  a  meeting  at  Killion's,  and  a 
gracious  season  it  was:  my  subject  was  I  Cor.  xv,  38.  Sister  Killion 
and  Sister  Smith,  sisters  in  the  flesh,  and  kindred  spirits  in  holiness 
and  humble  obedience,  are  both  gone  to  their  reward  in  glory.  On 
Thursday  we  came  away  in  haste,  crossing  Swamoat  [Swannanoa]  at 
T.  Foster's,  the  French  Broad  at  the  High  [Long]  Shoals,  and  after- 
ward again  at  Beard's  Bridge,  and  put  up  for  the  night  at  Andrew 
Mitchell's;  in  our  route  we  passed  two  large  encamping  places  of  the 
Methodists  and  Presbyterians :  it  made  the  country  look  like  the  Holy 
Land. 

"Friday,  28.  We  came  up  Little  River,  a  sister  stream  of  French 
Broad:  it  offered  some  beautiful  flats  of  land.  We  found  a  new  road, 
lately  cut,  which  brought  us  in  at  the  head  of  Little  River  at  the  old 
fording  place,  and  within  hearing  of  the  falls,  a  few  miles  off  of  the 
head  of  IMatthews  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Seleuda  The  waters  forming 
down  the  rocks  with  a  descent  of  half  a  mile,  make  themselves  heard 
at  a  great  distance.  I  walked  down  the  mountain  after  riding  sixteen 
or  eighteen  miles,  before  breakfast,  and  came  in  al)out  twelve  o'clock  to 
father  John  Douthat's;  once  more  I  have  escaped  from  filth,  fleas, 
rattlesnakes,  hills,  mountains,  rocks,  and  rivers;  farewell,  western 
world — for  a  while!" 


i 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  111 

Again  in  October,  1805,  we  find  the  following  entry: 

"North  Carolina.  We  came  into  North  Carolina,  and  lodged  with 
William  Nelson,  at  the  Hot  Springs.  Next  day  we  stopped  with 
Wilson  in  Buncombe.  On  Wednesday  I  breakfasted  with  Mr.  Newton, 
Presbyterian  minister,  a  man  after  my  own  mind:  we  took  sweet 
counsel  together.  We  lodged  this  evening  at  Mr.  Fletcher's,  Mud 
Creek.  At  Colonel  Thomas's,  on  Thursday,  we  were  kindly  received 
and  hospitably  entertained." 

Again  in  September,  1806,  we  find  the  following  entry: 

"Wednesday,  23  (24).  We  came  to  Buncombe;  we  were  lost 
within  a  mile  of  M'Killon's  [Killians] ,  and  were  happy  to  get  a  school 
house  to  shelter  us  for  the  night.  I  had  no  fire,  but  a  bed  wherever 
I  could  find  a  bench;  my  aid,  Moses  Lawrence,  had  a  bear  skin,  and 
a  dirt  floor  to  spread  it  on. 

"Friday,  25  (26).  My  affliction  returned: — considering  the  food, 
the  labor,  the  lodging,  the  hardships  I  meet  with  and  endure,  it  is  not 
wonderful.  Thanks  be  to  God!  we  had  a  generous  rain — may  it  be 
general  through  the  continent! 

"Saturday,  27.  I  rode  twelve  miles  to  Turkey  Creek,  to  a  kind 
of  camp  meeting.  On  the  Sabbath  I  preached  to  about  five  hundred 
souls;  it  was  an  open  season,  and  a  few  souls  professed  converting 
grace. 

"Monday,  27  (29).  Raining.  We  had  dry  weather  during  the 
meeting.  There  were  eleven  sermons,  and  many  exhortations.  At  noon 
it  cleared  up,  and  gave  us  an  opportunity  of  riding  home:  my  mind 
enjoyed  peace,  but  my  body  felt  the  effect  of  riding.  On  Tuesday  I 
went  to  a  school  house  to  preach :  I  rode  through  Swanino  River,  and 
Cane  and  Hoppers  [Hooper's]  Creeks. 

"North  Carolina,  Wednesday,  Oct.  1.  I  preached  at  Samuel 
Edney's.  Next  day  we  had  to  cope  with  Little  and  Great  Hunger 
mountain.  Now  I  know  what  Mills  Gap  is,  between  Buncombe  and 
Rutherford :  one  of  the  descents  is  like  the  roof  of  a  house,  for  nearly 
a  mile:    I  rode,  I  walked,  I  sweat,  I  trembled,  and  my  old  knees 


112  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

failed;  here  are  gullies  and  rocks,  and  precipices;  nevertheless  the 
way  is  as  good  as  the  path  over  the  Table  Mountain — bad  is  the  best. 
We  came  upon  Green  River." 

Again  on  October,  1807,  we  find  the  following  entry: 

"Friday,  15  (16).  We  reached  Wampings  [Warm  Springs].  I 
suffered  much  today;  but  an  hour's  warm  bath  for  my  feet  relieved  me 
considerably.    On  Saturday  we  rode  to  Killon's. 

"North  Carolina — Sabbath,  18.  At  Buncombe  courthouse  I  spoke 
from  2  Kings  vii,  13,  14,  15.  The  people  were  all  attention.  I  spent 
a  night  under  the  roof  of  my  very  dear  brother  in  Christ,  George 
Newton,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  an  Israelite  indeed.  On  Monday 
we  made  Fletcher's;  next  day  dined  at  Terry's,  and  lodged  at 
Edwards's.     Saluda  ferry  brought  us  up  on  Wednesday  evening." 

Again  on  October,  1808,  we  find  the  following  entry: 

"On  Tuesday  we  rode  twenty  miles  to  the  Warm  Springs;  and 
next  day  reached  Buncombe,  thirty-two  miles.  The  right  way  to  im- 
prove a  short  day  is  to  stop  only  to  feed  the  horses,  and  let  the  riders 
meanwhile  take  a  bite  of  what  they  have  been  provident  enough  to  put 
into  their  pocket.  It  has  been  a  serious  October  to  me.  I  have  labored 
and  suffered ;   but  I  have  lived  near  to  God. 

"North  Carolina — Saturday,  29.  We  rested  for  three  days  past. 
We  fell  in  with  Jesse  Richardson:  he  could  not  bear  to  see  the  fields 
of  Buncombe  deserted  by  militia  men,  who  fire  a  shot  and  fly,  and 
wheel  and  fire,  and  run  again;  he  is  a  veteran  who  has  learned  to 
'endure  hardness  like  a  good  soldier  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  On 
the  Sunday  I  preached  in  Buncombe  courthouse  upon  I  Thess.  i,  7-10, 
I  lodged  with  a  chief  man,  a  Mr.  Irwin.  Henry  Boehm  went  to 
Pigeon-Creek  to  preach  to  the  Dutch." 

In  October,  1809,  we  find: 

"We  crossed  the  French  Broad  and  fed  our  horses  at  the  gate  of 
Mr.  Wootenpile  [Hoodenpile] ;  he  would  accept  no  pay  but  prayer; 
as  I  had  never  called  before  he  may  have  thought  me  too  proud  to 
stop.  Our  way  now  lay  over  dreadful  roads.  I  found  old  Mr.  Barnett 
sick:    the  case  was  a  desperate  one,  and  I  gave  him  a  grain  of  tartar 


Asheville  and  Buncoynhe  County  1 1 3 

and  a  few  composing  drops,  which  procured  him  a  sound  sleep.  The 
patient  was  very  thankful,  and  would  charge  us  nothing.  Here  are 
martyrs  to  whiskey.  I  delivered  my  own  soul.  Saturday  brought  us  to 
Killion's.  Eight  times  within  nine  years  I  have  crossed  these  Alps.  If 
my  journal  is  transcribed  it  will  be  as  well  to  give  the  subject  as  the 
chapter  and  verse  6f  the  text  I  preached  from.  Nothing  like  a  sermon 
can  I  record.  Here  now  am  I,  and  have  been  for  twenty  nights, 
crowded  by  people;   and  the  whole  family  striving  to  get  round  me. 

''Sabbath,  20  (29).  At  Buncombe  I  spoke  on  Luke  xiv,  10.  It 
was  a  season  of  attention  and  feeling.  We  dined  with  Mr.  Erwine  and 
lodged  with  James  Patton;  how  rich,  how  plain,  how  humble,  and  how 
kind!  There  was  a  sudden  change  in  the  weather  on  Monday;  we 
went  as  far  as  D.  Jay's.  Tuesday,  we  moved  in  haste  to  Mud  Creek, 
Green  River  Cove,  on  the  other  side  of  Saluda." 

Again  in  December,  ISIO,  we  find  the  following  entry: 

"At  Catahouche  [Catalouche],  I  walked  over  a  log.  But  O,  the 
mountain— height  after  height,  and  five  miles  over!  After  crossing 
other  streams,  and  losing  ourselves  in  the  woods,  we  came  in,  abou^t 
nme  o'clock  at  night,  to  Vater  Shuck's.  What  an  awful  day!  Satur- 
day, December  1.  Last  night  I  was  strongly  afflicted  with  pain.  We 
rode  twenty-five  miles  to  Buncombe. 

"North  Carolina— Sabbath,  2.  Bishop  M'Kendree  and  John 
M'Gee  rose  at  five  o'clock  and  left  us  to  fill  an  appointment  about 
twenty-five  miles  off.  Myself  and  Henry  Boehm  went  to  Newton's 
Academy,  where  I  preached.  Brother  Boehm  spoke  after  me;  and 
Mr.  Newton,  in  exhortation  confirmed  what  was  said.  Had  I  known 
and  studied  my  congregation  for  a  year,  I  could  not  have  spoken  more 
appropriately  to  their  particular  cases;  this  I  learned  from  those  who 
knew  them  well.  We  dined  with  Mr.  Newton:  he  is  almost  a  Metho- 
dist, and  reminds  me  of  dear  Whatcoat— the  same  placidness  and 
solemnity.  We  visited  James  Patton;  this  is,  perhaps,  the  last  visit  to 
Buncombe. 

"Monday.     It  was  my  province  today  to  speak  faithfully  to  a  cer- 
tam  person.    May  she  feel  the  force  of,  and  profit  by  the  truth." 


114  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Again  in  December,  1812,  we  meet  with  the  following  entry: 

"Monday,  December  1  (November  30).  We  stopped  at  Michael 
Bollen's  on  our  route,  where  I  gave  them  a  discourse  on  Luke  xi,  11, 
12,  13.  Why  should  we  climb  over  the  desperate  Spring  and  Paint 
Mountains  when  there  is  such  a  fine  new  road  ?  We  came  on  Tuesday 
a  straight  course  to  Barret's  [Barnett's],  dining  in  the  woods  on  our 
way.   * 

"North  Carolina — Wednesday,  December  3  (2).  We  went  over 
the  mountain,  22  miles,  to  Killon's. 

"Thursday,  4  (3).  Came  on  through  Buncombe  to  Samuel 
Edney's:  I  preached  in  the  evening.  We  have  had  plenty  of  rain 
lately.  Friday,  I  rest.  Occupied  in  reading  and  writing.  I  have 
great  communion  wdth  God.    I  preached  at  Father  Mills's." 

Again  in  October,  1813,  we  meet  with  this  entry: 

"Sabbath,  24.  I  preached  in  great  weakness.  I  am  at  Killion's 
once  more.  Our  ride  of  ninety  miles  to  Staunton  bridge  on  Saluda 
river  was  severely  felt,  and  the  necessity  of  lodging  at  taverns  made  it 
no  better. 

Friday,  29.  On  the  peaceful  banks  of  the  Saluda  I  write  my 
valedictory  address  to  the  presiding  elders." 

Killian's,  so  often  mentioned  with  different  spellings  in  the  fore- 
going extracts,  was  the  residence  of  late  Capt.  I.  V.  Baird  on 
Beaverdam. 

The  side-fords  of  the  river,  talked  of  above,  were  places  where  in 
the  construction  of  the  road  down  the  river  bank  the  builders  en- 
countered places  at  which  the  stream  washes  the  foot  of  large 
precipices,  usually  the  ends  of  mountain  spurs.  In  order  to  pass  such 
places  th^  road  was  made  to  pass  in  the  bed  of  the  river  until  the 
precipice  no  longer  obstructed  the  way.  Rarely  were  such  places  of  the 
road  running  in  the  water  longer  than  an  eighth  of  a  mile.  They  were 
called  side-fords  and  the  road  was,  of  course,  impassable  when  there 
was  a  flood  in  the  stream.  Afterwards,  when  the  recourses  of  the  road 
builders  were  greater,  a  stone  wall  was  extended  in  the  river  distant  the 
width  of  the  road  from  the  precipice  and  the  space  between  the  wall 
and  the  precipice  filled  with  stone  and  covered  with  earth.    Later  still 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  115 

a  Way  was  dug  and  blasted  through  the  precipice.  Side-fords  were 
very  poor  expedients  for  passing  bluffs,  but  better  than  none  and  in 
some  regions  have  been  used  until  within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 

The  Thomas  Foster  mentioned  several  times  by  Bishop  Asbury 
was  the  Captain  Thomas  Foster  spoken  of  above.  He  was  not  a 
Methodist  but  a  Universalist. 

Francis  Asbury,  just  quoted,  was  the  son  of  some  of  the  earliest 
followers  of  John  Wesley  and  was  born  in  Handsworth,  Staffordshire, 
England,  August  20,  1745.  He  became  a  Methodist  at  thirteen,  a  local 
preacher  at  sixteen,  and  a  regular  preacher  at  twenty-two  in  1767. 
In  1771  John  Wesley  sent  him  to  America.  On  October  27,  1771,  he 
landed  at  Philadelphia.  Next  year  he  was  made  "general  assistant 
in  America"  and  in  1784  bishop.  He  began  then  his  annual  journevs 
of  about  6000  miles  each  from  Maine  to  South  Carolina.  He  died  in 
Spottsylvania,  Virginia,  March  21,  1816.  His  Journals  were  pub- 
lished in  1821  and  again  in  1852. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  some  of  the  States  owned 
large  portions  of  unoccupied  territory  extending  westward  to  the 
Mississippi  River.  Those  States  who  owTied  no  such  territory  were 
exceedingly  insistent  that  this  wild  territory  should  be  given  to  the 
general  government  and  sold  to  defray  unpaid  expenses  incurred  by 
that  government  during  the  war.  Most  of  the  States  owning  such 
territory  made  such  gifts.  The  gift  of  South  Carolina  was  of  the  land 
to  the  westward  of  her  present  borders  unto  the  Mississippi  River  and 
lying  between  Georgia  and  the  thirty-fifth  parallel  of  northern  latitude 
which  was,  by  common  recognition,  the  southern  boundary  in  that 
region  of  North  Carolina;  and  the  gift  was  made  in  1787.  Georgia 
refused  to  donate  her  western  lands,  which  now  constitute  the  States 
of  Alabama  and  Mississippi.  A  controversy  arose  out  of  this,  which 
was  finally  adjusted  in  1802  when  Georgia  ceded  these  lands  on  certain 
terms,  one  of  which  was  that  the  United  States  convey  to  her  so  much 
of  this  South  Carolina  cession  as  lay  between  her  northern  border 
and  this  thirty-fifth  parallel  of  latitude.  After  this  conveyance  from 
the  United  States,  Georgia  established  on  this  newly  acquired  territory 
a  county  called  Walton  and  began  a  settlement  there.  She  had  sent  an 
engineer  to  locate  there  the  parallel  of  latitude  mentioned  and  he  had 


1 1 6  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

reported  that  it  would  cross  the  French  Broad  River  north  of  !Mills's 
River  somewhere.  On  much  of  this  land  North  Carolina  had  issued 
grants  to  people  who  had  settled  there.  As  it  was  known  that  North 
Carolina  claimed  that  the  thirty-fifth  parallel  lay  further  south. 
Georgia,  in  her  act  creating  Walton  County,  appointed  three  commis- 
sioners to  meet  a  like  number  from  North  Carolina  and  determine  the 
position  of  the  parallel.  North  Carolina,  having  received  official 
notice  of  Georgia's  action,  appointed  a  like  number  of  commissioners. 
The  two  sets  of  commissioners,  each  accompanied  by  a  mathematician, 
met  at  Asheville  on  or  about  June  20,  1807,  and  entered  upon  a  pre- 
liminary agreement  in  writing.  Then  they  proceeded  up  French  Broad 
River  on  their  task.  Observations  where  the  Georgia  engineer  had 
located  the  parallel  showed  him  to  have  been  too  far  north.  Another 
observation  fifteen  miles  further  south,  where  South  Carolina  had  sup- 
posed the  line  to  cross,  between  the  mouths  of  Little  River  and  David- 
son's River,  proved  to  be  still  too  far  north.  Then  the  commissioners 
went  to  Caesar's  Head  and  made  further  observations.  They  were 
still  too  far  north.  Further  work  was  unnecessar}^  South  Carolina 
had  never  owned  one  inch  of  the  territory  which  she  had  ceded  to  the 
United  States  and  Georgia  had  no  land  for  her  County  of  Walton. 
The  commissioners  agreed  in  writng  on  their  reports.  North  Carolina 
adopted  the  report  and  it  was  spread  upon  the  minutes  of  Buncombe 
County  Court.  Georgia  rejected  the  report  and  boldly  demanded  of 
North  Carolina  the  appointment  of  a  new  set  of  commissioners.  To 
this  the  answer  of  the  latter  was  that  the  matter  was  settled  and  if 
Georgia  violated  her  faith  in  regard  to  one  commission  she  might  do  so 
equally  in  regard  to  another.  Then  Georgia  carried  the  matter  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  where,  after  three  years,  it  died.  Finally 
Georgia,  having  ascertained  that  the  report  of  the  commissioners  was 
correct,  repealed  her  act  creating  the  County  of  Walton,  and  amnesty 
was  extended  for  all  offences  committed  in  this  dispute  by  settlers,  of 
which  there  had  been  riots  and  some  bloodshed,  especially  on  the 
French  Broad  River,  a  mile  or  two  below  the  present  Brevard,  where 
a  Georgia  settlement  had  been  made  and  the  North  Carolina  militia 
had  arrested  the  settlers  and  carried  them  to  Morganton.  The 
"Georgia  War"  was  over. 


Chapter  IX 
ROADS  AND  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS 

IN  1824  Asheville  received  her  greatest  impetus.  In  that  year  the 
Legislature  of  North  Carolina  incorporated  the  now  famous  but 
abandoned  Buncombe  Turnpike  road,  directing  James  Patton, 
Samuel  Chunn  and  George  Swain  to  receive  subscriptions  "for  the 
purpose  of  laying  out  and  making  a  turnpike  road  from  the  Saluda 
Gap,  in  the  County  of  Buncombe,  by  way  of  Smith's,  Murrayville, 
Asheville  and  the  Warm  Springs,  to  the  Tennessee  line."  (2  Rev.  Stat, 
of  N.  C,  page  418.)  This  great  thoroughfare  was  completed  in  1828, 
and  brought  a  stream  of  travel  through  Western  North  Carolina.  All 
the  attacks  upon  the  legality  of  the  act  establishing  it  were  overruled  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  and  Western  North  Carolina  entered 
through  it  upon  a  career  of  marvellous  prosperity,  which  continued  for 
many  years. 

In  1851,  January  15th,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  North 
Carolina  incorporated  the  "Asheville  &  Greenville  Plank  Road  Com- 
pany" with  authority  to  that  company  to  occupy  and  use  this  turnpike 
road  south  of  Asheville  upon  certain  prescribed  terms.  A  plank  road 
was  constructed  over  the  southern  portion  of  it,  or  the  greater  part  of  it 
south  of  Asheville,  and  contributed  yet  more  to  Asheville's  prosperity. 
By  the  conclusion  of  the  late  war,  however,  this  plank  road  had  gone 
down,  and  in  1866  the  charter  of  the  plank  road  company  was 
repealed,  while  the  old  Buncombe  turnpike  was  suffered  to  fall  into 
neglect. 

When  Thomas  Foster  built  his  bridge  across  the  Swannanoa  early 
in  the  last  century,  he  constructed  a  road  from  a  point  on  the  hill  about 
opposite  to  the  Newton  Academy  near  the  entrance  to  the  Perry  place 
to  his  bridge,  and  thence  by  his  house  and  up  to  the  southwest  so  as  to 
join  the  old  road  that  ran  from  the  Gum  Spring  at  or  near  the  Steam 
Saw  Mill  place  above  mentioned.  By  this  time  large  numbers  of  hogs, 
cattle  and  horses  had  begun  to  be  driven  from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 
by  way  of  Asheville  into  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  there  was 


118  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

great  profit  in  buying  up  the  large  quantities  of  corn,  then  raised  in 
this  county,  and  feeding  it  to  this  stock.  Col.  John  Patton  soon  after 
opened  a  road  from  the  southern  limits  of  Asheville  through  the 
grounds  of  the  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute,  to  the  west  of  that 
building,  and  immediately  in  front  of  the  Oakland  Heights  building, 
and  on  by  way  of  the  entrance  of  Fernihurst  to  his  place  beyond  the 
Swannanoa,  and  thence  to  the  old  road  which  ran  by  the  Gum  Spring, 
at  a  point  about  a  mile  further  on.  The  rivalry  between  him  and 
Thomas  Foster  in  the  business  of  feeding  stock  upon  their  two  several 
roads  now  became  fierce,  though  not  unfriendly.  When  the  Buncombe 
Turnpike  road  was  built,  the  route  adopted  was  the  road  by  Col.  John 
Patton's,  but  when  afterward  the  Plank  Road  took  its  place  it  was 
constructed  so  as  to  pass  Swannanoa  between  these  two  roads  at  the 
site  of  the  present  Biltmore  concrete  bridge  two  miles  beyond  Asheville. 
At  this  point  a  wooden  bridge  was  built  which  was  removed,  in  1883. 
to  give  way  to  an  iron  structure,  and  later  a  concrete  bridge  was  built 
there. 

From  the  time  of  the  building  of  the  Buncombe  Turnpike  road, 
Asheville  began  to  be  a  health  resort  and  summering  place  for  the 
South  Carolinians,  who  have  ever  since  patronized  it  as  such. 

THE  COURT  HOUSES 

When  the  court  ceased  to  meet  at  Colonel  William  Davidson's,  it 
adjourned  to  meet  at  :Morristown  at  its  next  session.  Here,  accord- 
ingly, on  the  third  Monday  of  July,  1793,  it  met  "at  the  court  house." 
Where  this  court  house  stood  cannot  now  be  positively  determined. 
It  is  almost  certain,  however,  that  it  was  in  the  centre  of  IMain  Street 
upon  he  Public  Square,  at  the  head  of  Patton  Avenue.  On  the  old  plat 
first  hereinbefore  shown,  which  was  also  preserved  by  the  late 
Nehemiah  Blackstock  and  by  him  given  to  the  late  Capt.  R.  B. 
Johnston,  and  which  shows  upon  its  face  that  it  was  made  before  the 
sale  of  the  additional  lots  by  Zebulon  Baird,  contemplated  in  the  first 
act  of  the  incorporation  of  the  town,  the  court  house  is  so  placed,  and 
there  is  no  record  of  it  ever  having  been  elsewhere,  and  we  know  it 
stood  there  in  1802.    As  the  adjoining  lots  were  then  unimproved,  the 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  119 

position  of  this  court  house  in  the  middle  of  the  street  was  in  no  way 
inconvenient  to  travel,  since  one  might  ride  or  drive  around  it  at 
pleasure. 

In  January,  1796,  it  was 

"Ordered  by  the  court  that  Lambert  Clayton,  John  Hawkins  and 
Richard  Williamson  be  appointed  commissioners  to  lay  off  the  plan  of 
the  public  buildings." 

This,  however,  most  probably  had  reference  to  the  jail  and  build- 
ings other  than  the  court  house. 

In  April,  1802,  the  following  action  was  taken  by  the  court: 

"Ordered  by  Court  that  all  the  lot  holders  near  or  adjoining  the 
Court  house,  be  requested  to  meet  the  court  on  Wednesday  of  July 
session  next,  in  pursuance  of  the  following  presentment  of  the  grand 
jury,  to-wit: 

"The  grand  Jury  for  the  County  of  Buncombe  at  April  Session, 
1802,  present  as  a  public  grievance  the  situation  of  the  public  build- 
ings, to-wit,  the  Court  house  and  Jail,  the  former  of  which  being  35  feet 
long,  stands  partly  on  the  Town  street,  and  partly  on  the  lot  of  Samuel 
Chunn  and  Zebulon  Baird,  and  the  latter  on  the  lots  of  James  Brittain 
and  Andrew  Erwin,  so  that  the  County,  after  expending  a  very  con- 
siderable sum  of  money  in  executing  said  Buildings,  have  not  the 
slightest  title  to  the  ground  on  which  they  stand. 

"The  jury  therefore  recommend  that  the  Court  take  measures  to 
secure  the  aforesaid  titles,  and  procure  as  (a)  square  of  land  around 
those  buildings  sufficient  to  preserve  .them  from  the  fire  of  adjacent 
Buildings  or  remove  them  to  some  more  eligible  spot. 

"(Signed)         William  Whitson,  Foreman." 

The  land  of  Samuel  Chunn  and  Zebulon  Baird  here  referred  to 
was  that  part  of  the  Public  Square  immediately  in  front  of  the  Thomas 
building  on  the  western  side  of  the  Public  Square  and  southern  side  of 
Patton  Avenue  at  the  corner,  and  the  land  of  James  Brittain  and 
Andrew  Erwin  spoken  of  was  that  part  of  the  Public  Square  in  front 
of  the  First  National  Bank,  now  Asheville  Library,  building,  and  a 
little  to  the  north. 


120  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

In  April,  1805,  the  county  court  took  further  action  on  this  subject 
as  follows: 

"Ordered  by  court  John  Strother,  John  Stephenson,  Samuel 
Murray,  senr.,  Joseph  Henry  &  Thomas  Foster,  senr.  be  appointed 
commissioners  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  public  square,  from  the 
lot,  or  land  holders,  in  the  town  of  Asheville,  most  convenient  and 
interesting  to  the  public,  and  least  injurious  to  individuals,  that  the 
nature  of  the  Case  will  admit  of. 

"Who  are  to  meet  the  2d  Saturday  of  July." 

On  January  23,  1807,  deeds  were  made  to  "the  Commissioners 
Samuel  ^Murray,  senr.,  Thomas  Foster,  Jacob  Byler,  Thomas  Love  and 
James  Brittain  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  afore- 
said, to  purchase  or  receive  by  donation  lands  sufficient  for  a  Public 
Square  in  the  Town  of  Asheville,  in  the  County  and  State  aforesaid,'' 
as  follows: 

By  D.  Vance,  for  $10,  part  of  lot  30,  Rec.  Book  A,  page  231. 

By  John  Patton,  for  ?20,  part  of  lot  13,  Rec.  Book  A,  page  233. 

By  Zebulon  and  Bedent  Baird,  for  $60,  parts  of  lots  13  &  40, 
Rec.  Book  A,  page  234. 

By  Samuel  Chunn,  for  $35,  part  of  lots  13  &  39,  Rec.  Book  A, 
page  237. 

By  Andrew  Erwin  (Assignee  of  Jeremiah  Cleveland),  for  1  cent, 
part  of  lot  12,  Rec.  Book  A,  page  239. 

By  J.  Patton,  Jr.,  for  Patton  and  Erwin  part  of  lot  14,  15  &  29, 
Rec.  Book  A,  page  523. 

This  last  deed  is  made  "for  the  good  \yill  and  respect  we  bear 
towards  the  county  of  Buncombe,  the  town  of  Asheville  aforesaid  and 
the  public  in  general." 

The  situations  of  these  lots  can  readily  be  determined  by  reference 
to  the  map  of  the  towTi  heretofore  given. 

In  April,  1807,  it  was 

"Ordered  by  Court  that  the  County  Trustee  pay  Robt.  Love  the 
sum  of  one  pound  for  Registering  five  deeds  made  by  individuals  for 
the  use  of  the  public  square  in  Asheville." 

What  is  here  said  about  the  court  house  renders  it  exceedingly 
probable  that  it  was  not  the  original  log  structure  but  a  more  com- 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


121 


o  p 
^■p^ 


B^.t 


ri   O 

^  t;  3 


Ph'  .S  "^ 


c  §  5^ 
.  o  5. 


122  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

modious  building.  Later  it 'was  itself  supplanted  by  a  bdck  house 
built  between  1825  and  1833  and  situated  a  little  further  east  3n  the 
Public  Square.  On  the  erection  of  this  John  Woodfin,  once  chairman 
of  the  County  Court  at  a  later  day,  had  control,  and  his  son,  the  late 
N.  W.  Woodfin,  then  a  boy,  carried  bricks  and  mortar  for  "c.  This 
court  house  gave  way  to  a  handsome  building  which  was  trected  in 
1850  by  E.  Cla}1;on  and  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  26th  day  of  January, 
1865.  Some  years  later  a  small  one-story  brick  structure  was  erected 
as  a  court  house  upon  the  rear  portion  of  the  site  of*the  presp-it  Public 
Square.  The  contractor  for  this  work  was  the  late  B.  K.  Merrimon. 
In  1876  this  temporary  structure  gave  way  to  aOjOther  court  house 
which  stood  for  years  on  that  Square.  The  architect  of  this  building 
was  J.  A.  Tennent  and  the  contractor  H.  W.  Scott,  and  the  bricks  were 
made  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  present  Clayton  Street.  Then  Mr. 
George  W.  Pack  gave  the  county  upon  certain  conditions  a  site  for  a 
court  house  not  on  the  Public  Square  but  on  the  south  side  of  College 
Street,  and  on  this  site  the  county,  about  1903,  placed  the  present  brick 
court  house. 

The  jail  mentioned  above  was  succeeded  by  a  brick  building 
which  now  constitutes  a  part  of  the  Asheville  Library  and  the  First 
National  Bank  building.  Afterward  a  new  jail  was  erected  upon  the 
site  of  the  present  City  Hall,  but  when  the  present  jail  on  Eagle  Street 
was  built,  this  old  jail  became  the  property  of  the  city  of  Asheville. 

The  first  jail  was  a  very  poor  structure.  From  1799  to  1811, 
inclusive,  every  sheriff  of  the  county  annually  entered  his  protest  to  the 
court  against  its  insufficiency. 

In  1867  the  county  began  to  sell  off  portions  of  its  Public  Square 
on  the  north  and  south  sides,  and  reduced  the  Public  Square  to  its 
present  dimensions. 

LAWYERS 

At  its  first  session  in  April,  1792,  the  County  Court  elected  Reuben 
Wood,  Esq.  "attorney  for  the  State."  He  is  the  first  la\\7er  whose 
name  appears  as  practising  in  Buncombe  County.  Waighstill  Avery, 
the  first  Attorney  General  of  North  Carolina,  attended  the  next  session 
of  the  court  and  made  therein  his  first  motion,  which  "was  overruled 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


123 


124  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

by  the  court."  At  this  term  Wallace  Alexander  also  became  a  member 
of  the  Buncombe  bar.  Joseph  McDowell  appeared  at  October  t^rm, 
1793,  presented  his  license,  took  "the  oath  of  an  attorney,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  said  county."  On  the  next  day  James  Holland 
''came  into  court,  made  it  appear  (by)  Mr.  Avery  and  Mr.  Wood,  that 
he  has  a  license  to  practise  as  an  attorney — but  had  forgot  them."  He, 
too,  was  admitted  as  an  attorney  of  the  court.  At  January  court,  1794, 
Joseph  Spencer  proved  to  the  court  that  he  had  license  to  practise, 
and  was  likewise  admitted  as  an  attorney  of  the  court,  and  at  April, 
1795,  upon  the  resignation  of  Reuben  Wood,  he  was  elected  solicitor 
of  the  county.  The  next  attorney  admitted  was  Bennett  Smith.  Upon 
motion  of  Wallace  Alexander  in  April,  1802,  Robert  Williamson  was 
admitted  to  the  practice.  Then  in  July,  1802,  on  motion  of  Joseph 
Spencer,  and  the  production  of  his  county  court  license,  Robert  Henry, 
Esq.,  became  an  attorney  of  the  court.  This  singular,  versatile  and 
able  man  has  left  his  impress  upon  Buncombe  County  and  Western 
North  Carolina.  Born  in  Tryon  (afterward  Lincoln)  County,  North 
Carolina,  on  February  10,  1765,  in  a  rail  pen,  he  was  the  son  of 
Thomas  Henry,  an  emigrant  from  the  north  of  Ireland.  When  Robert 
was  a  school  boy  he  fought  on  the  American  side  at  Kings  Mountain, 
and  was  badly  wounded  in  the  hand  by  a  bayonet  thrust.  Later  he 
was  in  the  heat  of  the  fight  at  Cowan's  Ford,  and  was  very  near 
General  William  Davidson  when  the  latter  was  killed.  After  the  war 
he  removed  to  Buncombe  County  and  on  the  Swannanoa  taught  the 
first  school  ever  held  in  that  county.  He  then  became  a  surveyor,  and 
after  a  long  and  extensive  experience,  in  which  he  surveyed  many  of 
the  large  grants  in  all  the  counties  of  Western  North  Carolina,  and 
even  in  Middle  Tennesse,  and  participated  in  1799,  as  such,  in  locating 
and  marking  the  line  between  the  State  of  North  Carolina  and  the  State 
of  Tennessee,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  law.  In  January, 
1806,  he  was  made  solicitor  of  Buncombe  County.  He  it  was  who 
opened  up  and  for  years  conducted  as  a  public  resort  the  Sulphur 
Springs,  near  Asheville,  later  known  as  Deaver's  Spring  and  still  more 
recently  as  Carriers'  Springs.  On  January  6,  1863,  he  died  in  Clay 
County,  North  Carolina,  at  the  age  of  98  years,  and  was  "undoubtedly 
the  last  of  the  heroes  of  King's  Mountain."    To  him  we  are  indebt:"d 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  125 

for  the  preservation  and,  in  part,  authorship  of  the  most  graphic  and 
detailed  accounts  of  the  fights  at  Kings  Mountain  and  Cowan's  Ford 
which  now  exist.  He  was  the  first  resident  lawyer  of  Buncombe 
County. 

The  late  John  P.  Arthur,  author  of  the  History  of  Western  North 
Carolina  and  the  History  of  Watauga  County,  was  a  grandson  of 
Robert  Henry. 

The  next  lawyers  admitted  in  that  county  were,  in  the  order 
in  which  their  names  are  given,  Thomas  Barren,  Israel  Pickens, 
Joseph  Wilson,  Joseph  Carson,  Robert  H.  Burton,  Henry  Harrison. 
Saunders  Donoho,  John  C.  Elliott,  Henry  Y.  Webb,  Tench  Cox,  Jr., 
A.  R.  Ruffin  and  John  Paxton.  These  were  admitted  between  January, 
1804,  and  October,  1812,  from  time  to  time.  Probably  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  them  were  Israel  Pickens,  representative  of  the  Buncombe 
District  in  the  lower  house  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  from 
1811  to  1817,  inclusive,  and  afterwards  governor  of  Alabama  and 
United  States  Senator  from  that  State;  Joseph  Wilson,  afterward 
famous  as  a  solicitor  in  convicting  Abe  Collins,  Sr.,  and  other  counter- 
feiters who  carried  on  in  Rutherford  County  in  the  first  quarter  of  the 
last  century  extensive  operations  in  the  manufacture  and  circulation  of 
counterfeit  money;  and  Robert  H.  Burton  and  John  Paxton,  who 
became  judges  of  the  Superior  Court  of  North  Carolina  in  1818. 

The  first  lawyer  of  Buncombe  County  w^ho  was  a  native  thereof 
was  the  late  Governor  D.  L.  Swain.  Born,  as  has  been  already  stated 
at  the  head  of  Beaverdam,  on  January  4,  1801,  he  was  educated  unde' 
George  Newton  and  Mr.  Porter  at  Newton  Academy,  where  he  had  for 
classmates  B.  F.  Perry,  afterward  governor  of  South  Carolina;  Waddy 
Thompson,  of  South  Carolina,  distinguished  as  congressman  and 
minister  to  jMexico;  and  :M.  Patton,  R.  B.  Vance  and  James  W.  Patton 
of  Buncombe  County.  In  1821  he  was  for  a  short  while  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina.  In  December,  1823,  he  was  licensed  to 
practise  law  and  was  elected  to  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons 
in  1824,  1825  and  1826,  and  in  1827  was  made  solicitor  of  the 
Edenton  Circuit,  but  resigned  this  latter  office  after  going  around  one 
circuit.     In  1828  and  1829  he  was  again  in  the  House  of  Commons 


0 

/ 


126  AsheviUe  and  Buncombe  County 

from  Buncombe  County;  in  1830  he  became  a  judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  North  Carolina;  and  resigned  that  office  in  1832  on  being 
elected  governor  of  that  State. 

After  the  expiration  of  three  successive  terms  as  governor,  he 
became  president^gfJhgJLIaiver^r  of  NorthXarolina  in  1835.  and  con- 
tinued  in  that  placeur^jL-AttgnFt-S^^J^^^^Jh^^    of  his  death.    He 


was  largely  mstrumental  in  securing  the  passage  ot  the  a^  incor- 
porating the  Buncombe  Turnpike  company,  and  to  him  more  than  any 
other  man  Xortli  Carolina  is  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  parts  of 
her  history  and  the  defence  of  her  fame.  His  early  practice  as  a  lawyer 
was  begun  in  Asheville.  For  further  details  than  are  given  here  in 
regard  to  the  life  of  this  truly  great  man,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina,  and  his  Reminiscences,  and  to 
the  more  accurate  lecture  of  the  late  Governor  Z.  B.  Vance  on  the 
Life  and  Character  of  Hon.  David  L.  Swain. 

Governor  Swain  was  tall  and  ungainly  in  figure  and  awkward  in 
manner.  When  he  was  elected  judge  the  candidate  of  the  opposing 
party  was  Judge  Seaw^ell,  a  very  popular  man,  whom  up  to  that  time 
his  opponents,  after  repeated  efforts  with  different  aspirants,  had 
found  it  impossible  to  defeat.  "Then,"  said  a  maember  of  the  Legis- 
lature from  Iredell  County,  ''we  took  up  old  warping  bars  from 
Buncombe  and  warped  him  out."  From  this  remark  Mr.  Swain  ac- 
quired the  nickname  of  "Old  Warping  Bars,"  a  not  inapt  appellation, 
which  stuck  to  him  until  he  became  president  of  the  University  when 
the  students  bestowed  upon  him  the  name  of  "Old  Bunk."  He  con- 
tinued to  be  "Old  Bunk"  all  the  rest  of  his  life.  While  he  was  prac- 
tising at  the  bar  the  lawyers  rode  the  circuits.  Beginning  at  the  first 
term  of  the  court  in  which  they  practised,  they  followed  the  courts 
through  all  the  counties  of  that  circuit.  Among  Swain's  fellow  lawyers 
on  the  Western  Circuit  were  James  R.  Dodge,  afterwards  clerk  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State  and  a  nephew  of  Washington  Irving, 
Samuel  Hillman  and  Thomas  Dewes.  On  one  occasion  these  were  all 
present  at  the  court  in  one  of  the  western  counties  and  Dodge  was 
making  a  speech  to  the  jury.  Swain  had  somewhere  seen  a  punning 
epitaph  on  a  man  whose  name  was  Dodge.     This  he  wrote  off  on  a 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  127 

piece  of  paper  and  it  passed  around  among  the  lawyers,  creating  much 
merriment  at  Dodge's  expense.  After  the  latter  took  his  seat  some  one 
handed  it  to  him.     It  read: 

"Epitaph  on  James  R.  Dodge,  Attorney  at  Law 
Here  lies  a  Dodge  who  dodged  all  good, 

And  dodged  a  deal  of  evil ; 
But  after  dodging  all  he  could, 

He  could  not  dodge  the  devil.'' 

Mr.  Dodge  perceived  immediately  that  it  was  Swain's  writing, 
and  supposed  that  Hillman  and  Dewes  had  had  something  to  do  with 
it.  He  at  once  wrote  on  the  back  of  the  piece  of  paper  this  impromptu 
reply : 

"Another  Epitaph  on  Three  Attorneys 
Here  lie  a  Hillman  and  a  Swain, 

Their  lot  no  man  choose; 
They  lived  in  sin  and  died  in  pain, 
And  the  devil  got  his  Dewes." 

While  Mr.  Swain  was  Governor,  Mrs.  Silvers  of  Burke  County, 
a  white  woman,  was  hanged  for  the  murder  of  her  husband.  She  was 
the  only  white  woman,  and,  with  the  exception  of  one  negro,  the  only 
woman  ever  hanged  in  North  Carolina  after  it  became  a  State. 

David  L.  Swain,  as  Governor  of  the  State,  laid,  in  1833,  the 
corner  stone  of  the  State  capitol. 

Joshua  Roberts  was  of  Welsh  extraction  and  was  the  son  of  John 
and  Sarah  Roberts.  He  was  born  February  5,  1795,  near  Shelby  in 
Cleveland  County,  North  Carolina.  He  was  for  a  time  a  clerk  in  a 
store  and  while  so  acting  studied  law.  On  November  18,  1822,  having 
commenced  to  practise  law  at  Asheville,  North  Carolina,  he  married 
Lucinda  Patton,  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Patton,  and,  soon  after, 
settled  at  Franklin  in  Macon  County  of  that  State  where  for  some 
years  he  practised  law.  In  1830  he  returned  to  Asheville  and  built  a 
home  near  the  Indian  graves  on  Buchanan  Hill.  Later  he  took  up  his 
residence  on  a  farm  where  is  now  the  passenger  station  of  the  Southern 
Railway  Company.    His  house  there  is  still  standing.    There  he  died 


128  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

on  November  21,  1865.  He  was  for  three  terms  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  Buncombe  County  and  for  one  term  that  county's  register  of 
deeds.  In  company  with  John  Christy  he  established  the  Highland 
Messenger,  the  first  newspaper  in  Western  North  Carolina  and  the 
ancestor  of  The  Asheville  Citizen.  For  some  of  these  facts  of  his  life 
I  am  indebted  to  his  grandson,  Mr.  William  R.  Whitson,  of  Asheville. 
Joshua  Roberts  caused  to  be  built  as  his  residence  the  first  house 
erected  in  the  town  of  Franklin,  Macon  County,  North  Carolina. 

Thomas  Lanier  Clingman  was  partly  of  Indian  descent.  He  was 
born  at  Huntsville,  North  Carolina,  July  27,  1812.  Graduating  at 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1832,  he  began  to  practise  law  in 
Surry  County  of  this  State  which  in  1835  he  represented  in  the  House 
of  Commons.  In  1836  he  removed  to  Asheville  and  there  practised 
law,  serving  several  times  in  the  legislature  from  Buncombe  County 
and  becoming  in  1843  and,  except  in  the  29th  congress,  continuing 
until  June  4,  1858,  the  member  from  that  district  of  the  United  States 
House  of  Representatives.  In  1858  he  became  a  United  States  Senator 
from  North  Carolina  and  held  that  place  until  January  21,  1861,  when 
he  resigned  on  the  secession  of  his  State.  He  joined  the  Confederate 
army  and  became  a  colonel  and,  on  May  17,  1862,  a  brigadier-general, 
being  wounded  at  the  second  battle  of  Cold  Harbor  and  more  seriously 
near  Petersburg,  Virginia.  While  a  member  of  the  United  States  House 
of  Representatives  he  fought  in  Maryland  near  Washington  City,  in 
1845,  a  duel  with  Hon.  William  L.  Yancey  of  Alabama  but  neither 
was  injured.  In  1855  he  measured  the  altitude  of  a  peak  of  the  Black 
Mountains  in  Yancey  County  which  is  now  known  as  Mitchell's  Peak, 
the  highest  land  in  the  United  States  east,  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Dr.  Elisha  Mitchell  claimed  to  have  measured  that  peak  in  1844.  A 
controversy  between  them  on  the  subject  caused  Dr.  Mitchell's  attempt 
to  prove  the  measurement  which  he  claimed  and  in  attempting  to  secure 
the  proof  of  his  claim  he  lost  his  life  by  falling  into  a  stream  on  the 
Black  Mountain,  June  27,  1857.  Clingman  measured,  in  1858,  the 
highest  peak  of  the  Smoky  Mountains  in  North  Carolina,  which  is 
called  in  honor  of  him,  Clingman's  Dome. 

I  Zebulon  B.  Vance  was  the  son  of  David  Vance  and  Mira  (Baird) 

IVance   and  was  born   at  Vanccville  on  Reems  Creek   in  Buncombe 


ive 

7 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  129 

County,  North  Carolina,  May  13,  1830/He  attended  school  at  Newton 
Academy  and  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  and,  in  May,  185^, 
began  the  practice  of  law  in  Asheville.  He  was  in  1854  a  member 
the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons  and  in  1856  and  1860  h 
became  the  representative  of  Western  North  Carolina  in  the  Unite 
States  House  of  Representatives.  He  joined  the  Confederate  army 
In  1862  he  became  Governor  of  North  Carolina  and  continued  to  be 
such  until  the  end  of  the  war.  In  1876  he  again  was  made  Governor 
of  that  State  and  in  1879  became  United  States  Senator  from  North 
Carolina.  This  position  he  held  until  his  death  on  April  14,  1894 
He  was  buried  in  Asheville.  Two  monuments  in  North  Carolina  have 
been  erected  to  his  memory,  a  granite  shaft  on  the  Public  Square 
Asheville  and  a  bronze  statue  on  the  Capitol  Square  in  Raleigh. 

Robert  Brank  Vance,  a  brother  of  Zebulon  B.  Vance  and  son' of 
David  Vance  and  Mira  M.  (Baird)  Vance,  was  born  at  Vanceville, 
Reems  Creek,  Buncombe  County,  April  24,  1828,  and  attended  school 
at  Newton  Academy.  He  joined  the  Confederate  army  and  became 
a  captain,  then  a  colonel  and  finally  a  brigadier-general.  In  1872  he 
became  a  member  from  the  Western  North  Carolina  district  of  the 
United  States  House  of  Representatives  and  continued  to  hold  that 
place  until  in  1884.  Later  he  was  a  member  from  Buncombe  County 
of  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Representatives.  He  died  at 
Alexander  in  Buncombe  County,  on  November  28,  1899. 

Allen  Turner  Davidson,  another  grandson  of  Colonel  David 
Vance,  and  a  grandson  of  Major  William  Davidson,  who  was  one  of 
the  first  settlers  in  Buncombe  County  and  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Bee 
Tree  Creek,  was  the  son  of  William  INIitchell  Davidson  and  was  born 
on  Jonathan's  Creek  in  Haywood  County,  North  Carolina,  May  9, 
1819.  Clerking  for  a  time  at  the  store  of  his  father  in  Waynesville, 
in  1843  he  became  Clerk  and  Master  in  Equity  of  Haywood  County 
and  began  the  practice  of  law  on  January  1,  1845.  He  removed  to 
Murphy  in  Cherokee  County  of  the  same  State  where  for  about  twelve 
years  he  engaged  in  an  extensive  practice  as  a  la\v}Tr  and  was  par- 
ticularly distinguished  as  an  advocate  in  criminal  law.  He  was 
solicitor  of  that  county  and  in  April,  1860,  was  made  president  of  the 
Miners  and  Planters  Bank  of  Murphy.     In  1861  he  was  a  member 


130  Asheville  -and  Buncombe  County 

of  the  North  Carolina  Secession  Convention  and  a  delegate  therefrom 
to  the  Confederate  Provisional  Government.  And  in  1862  he  became 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Confederate  States. 
He  removed  to  Franklin,  JNIacon  County,  in  1865,  and  to  Asheville  in 
1869,  where  he  died.  Before  he  was  twenty-one  years  old  he  was  a 
colonel  in  the  militia  of  Haywood  County.  His  death  w^as  on  January 
24,  1905. 

Augustus  S.  Merrimon  was  bom  in  Transylvania  County,  North 
Carolina,  September  15,  1830,  the  son  of  B.  H.  Merrimon.  In  1855 
he  began  to  practise  law  at  Asheville  and  later  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons.  And  in  1865  he  became 
a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  He  was  made,  in  1873,  United  States 
Senator  from  North  Carolina,  serving  as  such  for  one  term,  and,  on 
September  29,  1883,  an  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
North  Carolina,  and,  on  November  14,  1889,  chief  justice  of  that  court. 
The  last  position  he  continued  to  hold  until  his  death  on  November 
14,  1892. 

John  L.  Bailey  was  born  in  Pasquotank  County,  North  Carolina, 
August  13,  1795.  Having  been  licensed  to  practise  law,  he  began  that 
work  in  Elizabeth  City,  North  Carolina.  In  1824  he  represented 
Pasquotank  County  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  in  1827  and  1828 
and  1832  in  the  State  Senate,  and  in  1835  in  the  North  Carolina  Con- 
stitutional Convention.  Becoming  a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  in 
1837  he  continued  to  hold  that  position  until  his  resignation  in  1863. 
He  taught  a  law  school  in  Elizabeth  City  and  when  later  he  removed 
to  Hillsboro,  North  Carolina,  he  was  associated  in  a  law  school  as 
teacher  with  Judge  F.  N.  Nash  of  the  North  Carolina  Supreme  Court. 
When  Judge  Nash  died  Judge  Bailey  removed  to  Buncombe  County 
and  took  up  his  residence  on  the  North  Fork  of  Swannanoa  River  at 
the  foot  of  Black  Mountain  and  continued  there  his  law  school  until 
1861  when  it  was  interrupted  by  the  war  on  the  South.  Then  in  1865 
he  removed,  house  and  all,  to  Asheville  and  erected  a  home  where  is 
now  Aston  Park.  Then  he  entered  on  the  practice  of  law  and  con- 
tinued his  school  until  1877.    On  June  30,  1877,  he  died  in  Asheville. 

David  Coleman  was  born  in  Buncombe  County,  February  5, 
1824.     His  mother  was  a  sister  of  Governor  David  L.  Swain.     After 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  131 

attending  school  at  the  Newton  Academy  and  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  he  went  to  the  United  States  Naval  Academy  at 
Annapolis,  Maryland.  In  1850  he  resigned  from  the  navy  and  began 
to  practise  law  at  Asheville.  In  1854  and  again  in  1856  he  repre- 
sented Buncombe  County  in  the  State  Senate.  He  joined  the  army  of 
the  Confederacy  and  became  a  colonel.  After  the  war  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law  in  Asheville  and  in  1875  was  a  member  from  Buncombe 
County  of  the  North  Carolina  Constitutional  Convention.  He  died  in 
Asheville,  ]March  5,  1883.  His  eccentricity  was  a  matter  of  common 
notice.  Often  he  would  walk  for  hours  about  the  country  with  his 
hands  crossed  behind  him  and  not  unfrequently  with  his  hat  in  his 
hands.  Such  was  the  ardor  of  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  South 
that  never  after  the  war  would  he  wear  other  suits  of  clothes  than  those 
manufactured  from  home-made  cloth  and  always  of  a  gray  color. 

Soon  after  Governor  Swain  began  the  practice,  Nicholas  W. 
Woodfin  became  a  lawyer,  and  served  as  the  connecting  link  between 
the  old  times  and  the  modern  bar  for  many  years.  He  was  born  in 
Buncombe  County  on  the  upper  French  Broad  River,  and  began  life 
under  most  unfavorable  circumstances,  and  for  a  while  labored  under 
the  greatest  disadvantages.  He  became,  however,  one  of  North  Caro- 
lina's most  famous  and  astute  lawyers.  But  few  men  have  ever  met 
with  such  distinguished  success  at  the  bar  as  he.  He  was  Buncombe's 
representative  in  the  State  Senate  in  1844,  1846,  1848  and  1850.  In 
the  course  of  his  career  he  acquired  a  large  fortune,  and  owned  great 
quantities  of  land  in  Asheville  and.  its  neighborhood.  With  the 
practice  of  law  he  carried  on  an  extensive  business  as  a  farmer,  and  in 
the  last  business  was  famous  for  the  introduction  of  many  useful  im- 
provements in  agriculture.  He  it  was  who  first  introduced  orchard 
grass  in  Buncombe  County,  and  turned  the  attention  of  her  farmers  to 
the  raising  of  cattle  on  a  large  scale  and  the  cultivation  of  sorghum. 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  late  war  Mr.  Woodfin  organized 
a  company,  and  established  on  Elk  Mountain  a  cheese  factory.  This 
was  followed  by  a  factory  established  by  the  late  William  R.  Baird, 
on  the  waters  of  Beaverdam.  These  factories,  however,  proved  un- 
successful, and  the  business  was  not  kept  up  in  the  county.  Mr. 
Woodfin  died  on  ^Vlay  23,  1876,  at  the  handsome  residence  which  he 


132  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

erected  and  for  many  years  occupied  on  North  Main  Street  in  Ashe- 
ville where  Dr.  J.  A.  Burroughs  once  lived.  It  is  now  occupied  by  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  Woodfin  Street  was  named  for 
him. 

Mr.  N.  VV.  Woodfin  was  born  January  29,  1810,  and  the  part  of 
Buncombe  in  which  he  was  born  is  now  in  Henderson  County.  He 
began  to  practise  law  in  1831.  And  in  1861  he  represented  Buncombe 
County  in  the  convention  at  which  North  Carolina  seceded  from  the 
United  States. 

Marcus  Erwin,  son  of  Leander  A.  Erwin,  was  born  in  Burke 
County,  North  Carolina,  June  28,  1826.  Soon  after,  his  father 
removed  to  New  Orleans,  Louisiana.  Marcus  was  sent  to  Transylvania 
University,  where  he  graduated  with  high  honors.  He  studied  law  in 
New  Orleans.  When  the  Mexican  War  commenced,  he  joined  the 
Texas  Mounted  Rifles  and  was  in  the  military  service  for  six  months, 
in  w'hich  time  he  participated  in  several  fights  in  ^Mexico.  Returning 
to  North  Carolina,  he  was,  in  1848-1849,  licensed  to  practise  law  and 
settled  at  Asheville,  where,  for  a  time,  he  also  edited  the  Asheville 
News.  He  was  elected  solicitor  of  the  Seventh  Circuit  of  North  Caro- 
lina, extending  from  Cherokee  to  Cleveland  County,  both  inclusive,  and 
acquired  much  additional  reputation  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of 
that  office.  A  member  of  the  State  legislature,  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  1850  and  1856  and  in  the  Senate  in  1860,  from  Buncombe 
County,  he  made  still  greater  reputation,  and  especially  in  the  latter, 
in  a  discussion  on  secession  with  John  M.  Morehead,  who  had  been 
governor  of  the  State.  ^Ir.  Erwin  was  an  early  and  ardent  secession' 
ist;  and  when  war  on  the  South  commenced  he  enlisted  in  the  Southern 
army  and  fought  as  long  as  it  continued  except  while  a  prisoner.  He 
became  a  major  in  the  service;  and  was  engaged  in  North  Carolina 
and  Virginia.  After  the  close  of  that  war  he  became  United  States 
Assistant  District  Attorney^  As  a  lawyer,  writer,  and  speaker  Major 
Erwin  attained  great  fame  and  he  was  known  throughout  tlie  State  and 
adjoining  States  for  his  ability  and  brilliancy.  He  died  at  ^lorganton, 
North  Carolina,  July  9,  1881.  To  his  son.  Honorable  Marcus  Erwin, 
present  State  Senator  from  Buncombe  County  I  am  indebted  for  some 
of  the  facts  of  Major  Erwin's  life. 


Chapter  X 
BUNCOMBE'S  FIRST  COURT 

THE  first  County  Court  of  Buncombe  County,  which  organized 
the  County  of  Buncombe,  was  composed  of  seven  justices  of  the 
peace  appointed  by  the  legislature  which  created  the  county 
and  by  that  legislature  directed  to  organize  that  county.  They  were 
"James  Davidson,  David  Vance,  William  Whitson,  William  Davidson, 
James  Alexander,  James  Brittain,  Philip  Hoodenpile."  The  first 
action  was  to  swear  in  these  justices  of  the  peace.  Then,  "Silence  being 
commanded  and  proclamation  being  made  the  court  was  opened  in  due 
and  solemn  form  of  law  by  John  Patton  specially  appointed  for  that 
purpose."  All  this  was  on  April  16,  1792.  Then  on  the  same  day 
"Lambert  Claytor  &  William  Brittain  being  duly  commissioned  as 
Justices  of  said  County  appeared  and  were  qualified  as  such,  by  takina 
the  oaths  for  the  qualification  of  public  officers  and  the  oath  of  Office 
as  Justices  of  the  peace  for  said  county  and  took  their  seats."  The 
court  now  having  nine  justices  of  the  peace,  next  proceeded  to  the 
election  of  other  county  officers.  Later  on  they  came  at  the  next  term 
in  July,  1792,  to  the  trial  of  the  first  cases  tried  in  the  new  county. 

The  first  case  tried  in  Buncombe  County  was  that  of  the  State 
against  Richard  Yardly,  in  July,  1792.  He  was  indicted  for  petit 
larceny,  was  convicted,  and  appealed  to  Morgan  Superior  Court  The 
first  civil  suit  was  that  of  W.  Avery  against  William  Fletcher,  which 
was  tried  by  order  of  the  court  on  the  premises  on  the  third  Monday 
m  April,  1795,  by  a  jury  summoned  for  that  purpose.  The  first 
pauper  provided  for  by  the  court  was  Susannah  Baker  with  her  child. 
The  first  processioning  proceeding  was  in  April,  1796,  when  William 
Whitson,  the  processioner  thereof,  returned  into  the  court  "the  pro- 
cessioning of  a  tract  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  on  the  East  side  of 
French  Broad  River  about  one  mile  and  a  quarter  from  Morristown, 
the  place  where  James  Henderson  now  lives,"  dated  April  20,  1796* 
This  embraces  the  property  lying  on  Park  Avenue  and  in  that  vicinity. 
Its  eastern  boundary  line  is  formed  in  part  of  the  Lineing  Branch,  the 
small  branch  immediately  eastward  thereof,   and  for  some  distlnce 


134  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

parallel  with  Depot  Street.  The  first  will  admitted  to  probate  therein 
was  that  of  Jonas  Gooch  in  July,  1792,  but  the  first  now  on  record  is 
that  of  Colonel  John  Patton  in  1831.  The  first  dower  assigned  was  to 
Demey  Gash,  widow  of  Joseph  Gash,  April,  1805,  At  the  October 
Term  of  1800  we  meet  with  the  following  entry  on  the  country'  court 
minutes : 

"The  following  petition  was  presented  and  read*  in  court  by  the 
Rev.  George  Xewton,  and  ordered  to  be  recorded  at  length  on  the 
Minute  docket  of  said  Court,  to-wit: 

"circular 

^'To  the  worshipful  Court  of  Buncombe,  the  petition  of  the  Pres- 
bytry  of  Concord  humbly  showeth  that  whereas  many  gross  im- 
moralities, daily  abound  among  the  citizens  of  our  state,  of  which 
intemperance  in  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  profane  swearing,  breach  of 
the  holy  sabbath  are  none  of  the  least,  as  those  crimes  with  many 
others  strike  against  our  political  happiness,  as  w^U  as  incurs  the 
displeasure  of  God. 

"And  as  our  legislature  have  been  careful  to  enact  a  sufficient 
number  of  wholesome  and  salutary  laws  for  the  suppression  of  such 
crimes  &  have  appointed  you  the  executors  of  those  and  other  Laws 
which  are  necessary  for  political  existence  as  a  ci\il  government.  We 
offer  this  our  earnest  and  humble  petition  that  those  with  other  useful 
and  necessary  Laws  be  carried  into  vigorous  execution:  We  are  the 
more  encouraged  to  offer  this  request,  as  we  are  well  assured  many 
within  our  bounds  who  hold  commissions  in  the  peace  would  be  happy 
to  see  an  effectual  check  given  to  the  above  enormities,  and  we  flatter 
ourselves  that  many  of  our  private  members  will  be  cordial  in 
strengthening  the  hands  of  the  civil  magistracy  in  supporting  that  good 
order,  which  is  essential  to  the  happiness  both  of  civil  and  religious 
societies. 

"On  a  due  attention  to  the  above,  your  humble  petitioners  as  in 

duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray. 

"Geo.  Newton,  Modr. 

i.TT  -i.    oi-      1.    o     .   o^   ^ar^r^  "Wm.  C.  Davis,  pro.  Clk. 

'•Unity  Church,  Sept.  30,  1800.  ^ 

"And  signed  by  a  number  of  church  members." 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  135 

At  January  Term,  ISOl: 

"On  motion  of  the  Rev.  George  Newton,  the  Court  took  up  the 
consideration  of  a  petition  from  the  Presbytry  of  Comcord  &  present 
and  read  last  Court  by  said  Newton,  praying  the  executive  officers  to 
exert  their  lawful  authority  in  suppressing  vice  and  immorality,  by 
carrying  the  law  into  vigorous  execution. 

"The  court  upon  full  consideration  are  fully  persuaded  that  the 
suppression  of  drunkenness,  profane  swearing,  sabbath  breaking  and 
vice  of  every  kind  will  have  great  tendency  to  promote  the  happiness 
both  of  civil  and  religious  society: 

"Therefore  unanimous  resolved,  that  each  of  us  in  our  public 
Capacity,  as  well  as  in  private  life,  agreeably  to  the  power  and 
authority  vested  in  us  by  the  Laws  of  our  Country,  will  exert  ourselves 
in  suppressing  such  enormous  practices,  and  carrying  the  laws  into 
vigorous  execution,  against  every  offender." 

Per  contra  take  the  following  entry  in  January,  1810: 

"The  managers  of  the  Newton  Academy  lottery  come  into  open 
court  and  enter  into  Bond  for  the  discharge  of  office  &  took  the  oath  of 
office." 

At  January  Court,  1799,  occurs  the  following  entry: 

"The  jury  find  the  defendant  Edward  Williams,  guilty  of  the  petit 
larceny,  in  manner  and  form  as  charged  in  bill  of  indictment. 

"The  Court  adjudge  that  the  prisoner  receive  25  lashes  on  his  bare 
back,  well  laid  on,  at  the  public  whipping  post  and  that  the  sheriff  of 
the  county  carry  the  judgment  into  execution.    Appeal  prayed." 

This  is  the  first  infliction  of  this  barbarous  punishment  adjudged 
in  the  county.    The  last  occurred  in  1865. 

The  punishments  of  public  whipping,  branding,  the  stocks,  and 
the  pillory  continued  to  be  inflicted  in  North  Carolina  until  1868.  Up 
to  that  time  eighteen  separate  offences  were  punishable  in  that  State 
with  death,  except  as  some  of  them  relating  to  slavery  had  necessarily 
been  done  away  with  in  the  recent  abolition  of  that  institution.  Under 
the  new  Constitution  then  adopted  there  are  only  five  capital  felonies 
in  the  State.  That  "cropping"  once  was  a  punishment  known  in  Bun- 
combe County  is  shown  by  the  allowance  of  a  certificate  made  to 


136  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Thomas  Hopper  by  the  County  Court  at  its  October  Term,  1793,  show- 
ing that  Hopper  had  lost  his  right  ear  in  a  fight  with  Philip  Williams, 
although  it  seems  not  a  little  strange  for  a  court  to  be  issuing  certifi- 
cates about  what  occurred  in  an  unlawful  breach  of  the  peace.  In 
July,  1838,  Buncombe  County  Court  provided  for  repairs  to  be  made 
on  its  "jail,  stocks  and  pillery." 

Imprisonment  for  debt  where  there  was  no  fraud  had  been 
abolished  by  North  Carolina  in  her  first  Constitution  adopted  Decem- 
ber 18,  1776;  so  that  Buncombe  never  had  a  debtor's  prison.  But,  in 
her  early  history  a  debtor  was  required  to  surrender  all  his  property, 
except  a  few  articles  as  the  tools  used  in  his  trade  and  similar  things, 
and  was  not  permitted  to  enjoy  exemptions  from  his  debt  in  large 
amounts  of  land  and  personal  property  as  now  he  can  do  under  the 
Constitution  of  1868,  exemptions  which,  as  to  the  land  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  once  intimated,  in  a  case  from  this  State, 
were  void  as  being  excessive. 

Per  contra  again: 

"On  motion  of  Joseph  Spencer  on  the  petition  of  Thomas  Foster, 
to  this  court,  to  have  his  negro  man  slave  Jerry  Smith  emancipated  and 
set  free,  for  his  meritorious  services :  The  Court  proceeded  to  take  the 
petition  under  consideration  and  do  adjudge  and  decree,  that  the  said 
Jerry  Smith,  is  a  fit  person  to  be  set  free,  and  emancipated:  There- 
fore ordered  by  the  court,  that  the  said  Jerry  Smith  be  emancipated  and 
set  free,  for  his  meritorious  services,  with  all  the  advantages  and 
emoluments  which  it  is  in  the  power  of  this  Court  to  grant,  during  his 
the  said  Jerry's  natural  life;  and  that  the  Clerk  of  this  Court  do  issue 
y  license  or  Certificate  to  the  said  Jerry  Smith  for  his  freedom 
accordingly." 

At  July  Term,  1799,  it  was 

"Ordered  by  court  that  two  fairs  be  established  in  the  county  of 
Buncombe  in  Asheville,  to-wit,  to  commence  the  first  Thursday  & 
Friday  in  June  following,  and  to  continue  on  said  days  annually, 
without  said  court  should  find  it  more  convenient  to  make  other 
alterations." 

At   lulv  Term,  1802,  it  was 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  137 

"Ordered  by  Court  that  the  following  instrument  of  writing  be 
recorded  at  length  as  follows  to-wit : 

"The  deposition  of  Caty  Troxell,  being  of  lawful  age  and  first 
sworn  on  the  Holy  Evangelists,  deposeth  and  saith  that  on  the  nine- 
teenth and  twentieth  day  of  May  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety  six,  a  certain  John  Morrice  legally  intermarried  with  her 
daughter  Judith  Troxell,  &  continued  to  live  with  said  wife  for  the 
space  of  two  years  in  all  possible  connuptial  Love  and  friendship,  that 
without  any  cause  assigned  or  any  application  for  a  divorce,  said  John 
Morrice,  has  absconded  and  has  never  been  heard  of  by  said  wdfe  or 
and  other  person  to  the  said  deponent's  knowledge: — and  for  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  said  John  ^lorrice  this  deponant  saith  as  follow  to-wit. 
He  appeared  to  be  upwards  of  twenty  large  odd  years  of  age,  appeared 
to  be  about  five  feet  eight  inches  high,  wdth  dark  Brown  hair,  with  blue 
eyes  his  speech  rather  on  the  shrill  key.  And  further  this  deponant 
saith  not. 

"Caty  Troxell. 

"Subscribed  and  sworn  to  by  the  said  deponant  this  23d  day  of 
July,  1800,  in  the  County  of  Pulaski,  and  State  of  Kentucky. 

"Sworn  to  before  us  Samuel  Gilmore  and  Robert  Modrell,  Justices 
of  the  peace  for  said  county. 

"As  witness  our  hands  and  seals  the  above  date  said. 

"Samuel  Gilmore  (seal). 
"Robt.  Modrell  (seal)." 

The  first  suit  tried  in  Asheville  (then  Morristown)  was  at  July 
Court,  179.3,  before  Esquires  "Will  Willson,  Lambert  Clayton,  Wm. 
Brittain"  and  a  jury,  and  was  a  "Caveat"  in  regard  to  an  entry  of  land. 
It  was  the  case  of  "Waightstill  Avery  vs.  William  Fletcher."  Fletcher 
won;  Avery  gave  notice  "that  he  will  move  for  a  Certiorari  to  bring  the 
proceedings  of  this  court  Supr.  Court,  September  Term,  on  the  first 
five  days  of  the  Term." 

This  Waightstill  Avery  w^as  the  gentleman  who  was  North  Caro- 
lina's first  Attorney  General. 

All  the  elections  to  county  offices  at  this  time  from  sheriff  to 
clerk,  register  of  deeds,  coroner,  entry  taker,  surveyor  and  treasurer. 


138  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

down  to  treasurer  of  public  buildings  and  standard  keeper,  were  made 
by  the  County  Court. 

It  will  be  remembered,  too,  that  at  the  beginning  the  Superior 
Courts  were  held  at  Morganton.  In  1806,  the  legislature  of  the  State, 
after  reciting  that  "the  delays  and  expenses  inseparable  from  the 
present  constitution  of  the  courts  of  this  State  do  often  amount  to  a 
denial  of  justice,  the  ruin  of  suitors,  and  render  a  change  in  the  same 
indespensibly  necessary,"  enacted  "that  a  Superior  Court  shall  be  held 
at  the  court  house  in  each  county  in  the  State  twice  every  year,"  and 
divided  the  State  into  six  circuits,  of  which  the  last  comprised  the 
counties  of  Surry,  Wilkes,  Ashe,  Buncombe,  Rutherford,  Burke, 
Lincoln,  Iredell,  Cabarrus  and  Mecklenburg,  and  directed  the  courts 
to  be  held  in  Buncombe  the  first  Monday  after  the  fourth  Monday  in 
March  and  September. 

Thus  in  1807  was  held  Buncombe's  first  Superior  court,  in  the 
spring  of  that  year.  The  first  trial  for  a  capital  offence  in  Buncombe 
County  was  that  of  Randal  Delk.  This  trial  occurred  in  1807  or  1808. 
Delk  had  fled  after  the  commission  of  the  offence  to  the  Indian  Nation, 
but  he  was  followed,  brought  back,  tried,  condemned  and  hung.  This 
was  the  first  execution  in  Buncombe  County,  and  took  place  just  south 
of  Patton  Avenue  opposite  to  the  postoffice.  It  is  said  that  soon  after 
a  negro  named  Christopher  was  for  barn  burning  executed  in  the 
county,  but  the  third  capital  execution  in  Buncombe  is  the  most  cele- 
brated in  her  annals.  Subsequent  to  the  execution  of  Delk  and  between 
the  years  1832  and  1835,  inclusive,  Sneed  and  Henry,  two  Tennes- 
seeans,  were  charged  with  highway  robbery  committed  upon  one 
Holcombe. 

The  alleged  robbery  is  said  to  have  taken  place  on  the  old  Bun- 
combe Turnpike  Road  about  a  mile  south  of  Swannanoa  River  and 
between  the  Old  Patton  Ford  and  the  present  road  from  Asheville  to 
Hendersonville.  Highway  robbery  was  then  a  capital  offence.  They 
strenuously  insisted  that  they  had  won  from  Holcombe,  in  gambling, 
the  horse  and  other  articles  of  which  he  claimed  that  they  had  robbed 
him.  They  were  convicted,  however,  and  hanged  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  crossing  of  East  and  Seney  streets.  The  field  here  was 
until  recentlv  known  as  the  Gallows  Field.     The  trial  created  intense 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  139 

public  excitement,  and  it  has  always  been  the  popular  opinion  that  it 
was  a  judicial  murder.  It  is  said  that  after  their  conviction  they  sent 
for  Holcombe,  who  shrank  from  facing  them,  and  that  the  subsequent 
life  of  this  man  was  one  of  continued  misfortune  and  suffering. 

A  Yankee  negro  garrison  was  placed  in  Asheville  in  1865  and 
kept  there  for  a  short  while.  Within  this  time  and  in  that  year  some 
of  the  members  of  that  garrison  committed  a  most  serious  outrage  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  count}',  for  which  they  were  tried  by  a  court 
martial  and  eight  or  ten  of  them  condemned  to  be  shot.  This  sentence 
was  promptly  executed  in  the  same  year  at  the  place  on  North  Main 
Street  where  East  Street  joins  that  street  and  Chestnut  Street.  The 
negroes  were  buried  where  they  were  shot.  Thirty- five  or  more  years 
later  when  East  Street  work  was  in  progress  the  workmen  dug  into  the 
graves  of  these  negroes. 

One  of  the  entries  at  April  Term,  1796,  of  the  County  Court  is  as 
follows:  "On  motion  of  Reuben  Wood,  Esq.,  Ordered  by  Court  that 
wherever  the  parties  lived  out  of  the  State,  a  notice  on  the  adverse 
parties  council  shall  be  considered  sufficient  notice."  From  this  it 
would  seem  that  the  County  Court  in  its  early  career  some  times 
assumed  legislative  functions. 

Another  attempt  of  the  same  sort  of  more  immediate  interest  to  the 
people  of  Asheville  is  the  following  order  made  at  July  court,  1799,  by 
that  body,  namely: 

"The  Court  further  appoint  the  following  commissioners  to  make 
such  laws  and  regulations  as  will  be  found  necessary  for  the  advantage 
and  order  of  said  Tovm  (Asheville),  to-wit:  Zebulon  Baird,  Daniel 
Jarrett,  William  Brittain,  Sam'l  Chunn,  William  Welshe,  George 
Swain  and  John  Patton." 

It  would  be  a  matter  of  no  small  interest  if  we  were  allowed  to 
examine  a  copy  of  these  ordinances. 

The  lottery  mentioned  above  as  "the  Newton  Academy  lottery" 
was  advertised  but  enough  tickets  were  not  sold  to  warrant  the  drawing 
and  the  money  already  collected  was  returned  to  those  who  had  sub- 
scribed and  paid. 


140  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

The  "processioning"  spoken  of  was  a  simple  method  of  deciding 
disputes  as  to  the  dividing  line  between  adjoining  tracts  of  land.  It 
grew  out  of  a  custom  in  England  of  walking  annually  around  the 
bounds  of  the  parish  in  procession  so  that  the  young  people  might  learn 
from  the  older  ones  where  the  bounds  were.  This  "processioning," 
based  on  such  a  custom,  became  a  law  under  certain  regulations  at  an 
early  day  in  the  English  settlements  of  eastern  North  Carolina.  Long 
ago  the  law  fell  into  disuse.     It  had  some  grave  disadvantages. 

The  next  capital  execution  after  that  of  Sneed  and  Henry  was  of 
a  man  named  Mason,  who  was  charged  with  having  murdered  his  wife, 
and  was  convicted  and  hung  where  now  College  Street  turns  to  the 
southeast  and  begins  to  ascend  the  mountain  to  Beaucatcher  Gap. 


Chapter  XI 
EARLY  CUSTOMS  IN  BUNCOMBE 

FROM  necessity  the  early  settlers  of  Buncombe  County  manu- 
factured almost  everything  which  they  used.  This  prevailed  tu 
even  a  greater  extent  than  at  first  we  would  be  led  to  suppose. 
They  not  only  raised  sheep  and  from  the  wool  manufactured  the  cloth 
for  their  garments,  but  also  cultivated  flax  and  from  it  produced  a  good 
quality  of  linen.  They  made  felt  hats,  straw  hats,  and  every  other 
article  of  domestic  consumption;  manufactured  their  own  furniture 
and  ropes,  ground  their  own  grain,  and  sawed  their  own  lumber.  They 
made  their  own.  leather  and  with  it  their  own  shoes,  harness  and 
saddles.  They  even  made  their  own  cow  bells  and,  by  boring  steel 
bars,  made  their  own  guns.  They  burned  their  own  pottery  and  delft 
ware.  They  built  their  own  mills  and  manufactured  and  prepared 
everything  used  in  erecting  their  houses.  Their  meats  were  easily  ob- 
tained. Game  was  abundant.  Old  Captain  Thomas  Foster  used  to 
say  that  when  he  began  housekeeping  he  would  at  night  turn  out  his 
horse  to  graze  about  the  canebrakes  at  the  mouth  of  Swannanoa  and 
when  morning  came  would  start  to  bring  him  home  before  breakfast, 
carrying  his  gun  with  him.  On  the  way  he  would  kill  a  deer,  leave  it 
until  he  caught  his  horse  and  return  with  his  horse  and  deer  in  time  for 
breakfast.  Fish  thronged  the  Swannanoa  and  French  Broad  rivers. 
A  good  site  for  a  fish  trap  was  the  greatest  recommendation  which  a 
piece  of  land  could  have.  These  places  were  always  the  first  entered 
and  granted.  In  them  lish  by  the  barrel  full  would  sometimes  be 
caught  in  a  single  night  where  the  trap  was  well  situated  and  strongly 
built.  Fishing  at  night  in  canoes  by  torchlight  with  a  gig  was  a 
favorite  sport  as  well  as  profitable  practice  and  it  was  much 
indulged  in. 

Ardent  spirits  were  then  in  almost  universal  use  and  nearly  every 
prosperous  man  had  his  whiskey  or  brandy  still.  Even  preachers  in 
some  instances  have  made  and  sold  liquor.  A  barroom  was  a  place 
shunned  by  none.     The  court  records  show  license  to  retail  issued  to 


142  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

men  who  stood  high  as  exemplary  members  of  churches.  On  Novem- 
ber 2,  1800,  Bishop  Asbury  chronicles  that  "Francis  Alexander 
Ramsey  pursued  us  to  the  ferry,  franked  us  over  and  took  us  to  his 
excellent  mansion,  a  stone  house;  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  that 
our  host  has  built  his  house,  and  takes  in  his  harvest  without  the  aid 
of  whiskey."    This  was  in  Tennessee  near  the  North  Carolina  line. 

In  1796  Governor  Ashe  issued  a  proclamation  announcing  "that 
in  pursuance  of  an  Act  to  provide  for  the  public  safety  by  granting 
encouragement  to  certain  manufacturers,  that  Jacob  Byler,  of  the 
county  of  Buncombe,  has  exhibited  to  him  a  sample  of  gunpowder 
manufactured  by  him  in  the  year  1795,  and  also  a  certificate  proving 
that  he  had  made  six  hundred  and  sixty-three  pounds  of  good,  mer- 
chantable rifle  gunpowder ;  and  therefore,  he  was  entitled  to  the  bounty 
under  that  Act."  (2  Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina,  page  52.) 
This  Jacob  Byler,  or  rather  Boyler,  was  afterward  a  member  of  Bun- 
combe County  Court,  and  in  the  inventory  of  his  property  returned  by 
his  administrator  after  his  death  in  October,  1804,  is  mentioned 
"Powder  mill  Irons." 

Naturally  these  people  needed  iron,  and  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina at  an  early  day  encouraged  its  manufacture  by  granting  bounties 
therefor.  Three  forges  where  it  was  made  grew  up  in  Buncombe 
County,  one  on  Hominy  Creek  upon  the  old  Solomon  Luther  place 
which  belonged  to  Charles  Lane;  another  on  Reems  Creek  at  the 
Coleman  Mill  place,  which  belonged  to  the  same  man,  but  was  sold 
by  him  in  1803  to  Andrew  Baird;  the  third  was  on  Mills  River,  now 
in  Henderson  County,  on  what  has  ever  since  been  called  the  Forge 
Mountain.  On  this  mountain  are  the  Boilston  Gold  Mines.  The  iron 
ore  for  this  purpose  was  procured  at  different  places  in  Buncombe 
County. 

The  first  consideration,  however,  to  these  primitive  inhabitants 
was  tlie  matter  of  grist  mills.  Hence  at  the  first  session  of  the  county 
court  we  find  it  "Ordered  that  William  Davidson  have  liberty  to  build 
a  Grist  mill  on  Swannanoa,  near  his  saw  Mill,  Provided  he  builds 
said  mill  on  his  own  land."  This  was  in  April,  1792.  In  January, 
1793,  it  was  "Ordered  that  John  Burton  have  liberty  to  build  a  Grist 
mill,  on  his  own  land,  on  a  branch  of  French  Broad  River,  near 


I 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  143 

Nathan  Smith's,  below  the  mouth  of  Swannanoa."  Apparently  David- 
son's mill  was  not  built,  but  John  Burton's  was  on  Glenn's  Creek  a 
short  distance  above  its  mouth.  The  late  James  Gudger,  who  was 
brought  in  his  early  infancy  to  his  father's  residence  on  Swannanoa, 
just  settled,  and  who,  in  1830  and  1835,  represented  Buncombe 
County  in  the  North  Carolina  Senate,  told  his  grandson.  Captain  J.  M. 
Gudger,  that  when  he  was  a  very  small  boy  it  was  the  custom  to  send 
a  number  of  boys  with  bags  of  grain  to  this  mill  to  be  ground,  and 
leave  it  there  until  a  month  later,  when  the  boys  would  return  with 
other  grain  and  carry  back  the  meal  ground  from  the  first.  He  further 
said  that  usually  a  man  accompanied  the  party  to  put  on  the  sacks 
when  they  fell  from  the  horses,  but  that  on  one  occasion  as  he,  then 
a  very  small  boy,  was  returning  from  the  mill,  with  his  companions 
of  about  the  same  age,  the  man  for  some  reason  was  not  along,  and  one 
of  the  sacks  fell  off  on  the  Battery  Park  hill  over  which  they  had  to 
pass;  that  while  here  endeavoring  in  vain  to  replace  the  sack  a  party 
of  Indians  came  upon  them  and  from  pure  mischief  threatened  and 
actually  began  to  hang  them;  that  the  boys  were  badly  frightened,  but 
finally  the  Indians  left  them  unharmed,  and  they  went  on  their  way, 
and  that  the  hill  was  afterwards  known  through  the  country  as  the  hill 
where  the  boys  were  hung.  He  still  further  said  that  the  miller  in 
charge  of  this  mill,  whose  name  w^as  Handlen,  undertook  to  cultivate 
a  crop  on  the  mountain  on  the  western  side  of  the  French  Broad,  but 
as  he  did  not  return  to  the  settlement  for  a  long  while  his  friends 
became  frightened,  and  in  a  party  went  to  his  clearing,  where  they 
found  him  killed  and  scalped,  and  his  crop  destroyed,  and  that  from 
this  incident  that  mountain  took  its  name  of  Handlen  Mountain. 

This  mill  John  Burton  afterwards  sold  with  the  fifty  acres  of 
land  on  which  it  stood,  to  Zebulon  and  Bedent  Baird.  It  was  un- 
doubtedly the  first  grist  mill  in  Buncombe  County,  all  the  grinding 
of  the  settlers  having  been  done  previous  to  its  erection  at  the  Old  Fort. 
After  this  sale  John  Burton  moved  to  Gap  Creek  on  the  road  from 
Asheville  to  Fairview,  where  he  met  with  business  misfortune  and  lost 
all  his  property.  His  wife,  Jean  or  Aunt  Jean  Burton,  was  a  sister  of 
William  Forster  mentioned  above,  and  an  aunt  to  Captain  Thomas 
Foster.     She  was  born  April  13,  1746,  and  died  January  28,  1824. 


144  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

We  have  noted  above  that  one  of  the  last  of  his  town  lots  sold  by 
John  Burton  was  to  Patton  and  Erwin,  after  the  town  had  become 
Asheville. 

Patton  and  Erwin  was  a  firm  of  merchants  composed  of  James 
Patton  and  his  brother-in-law  Andrew  Erwin.  James  Patton  was  born 
in  Ireland  on  February  13,  1756,  and  emigrated  to  America  in  1783. 
He  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  but  soon  became  a  prosperous  merchant. 
After  his  arrival  in  America  he  labored  for  several  years  at  mining, 
well-digging,  working  on  the  canals,  grubbing,  etc.  After  this  he  set 
out  from  Philadelphia  where  he  had  landed,  and  with  a  small  pack 
of  goods  went  south  as  a  peddler.  He  made  his  way  into  North  Caro- 
lina and  for  several  years  traded  in  Wilkes,  Burke  and  Buncombe 
counties,  getting  his  supplies  from  the  north.  In  1791  he  met  Andrew 
Erwin,  who  afterwards  married  his  sister,  and  went  into  business  with 
him.  This  partnership  continued  for  twenty  years,  and  was  settled  up 
in  one  day,  James  Patton  taking  the  North  Carolina  lands  belonging 
to  the  firm  and  Andrew  Erwin  taking  those  in  Tennessee. 

In  1807  these  gentlemen  moved  to  Swannanoa,  and  settled  on  the 
farm  where  Mr.  Frank  Reed  now  lives.  They  they  lived  until  1814, 
when  they  removed  to  Asheville.  Mr.  Patton  opened  a  store  and  hotel 
and  engaged  at  the  same  time  in  tanning  leather  and  farming.  His 
hotel  was  the  Eagle  Hotel  on  South  Main  Street,  about  midway  between 
Sycamore  and  Eagle  streets.  In  1831  he  bought  out  and  improved  the 
Warm  Springs.  After  a  long  and  prosperous  life  he  died  at  Asheville 
on  September  9,  1846.  His  tanyard  stood  on  the  west  side  of  where 
Valley  Street  now  runs  at  a  big  poplar  near  where  that  street  enters 
South  Main  Street.  An  autobiography  of  him  is  yet  in  existence.  The 
partnership  between  him  and  Andrew  Erwin  was  dissolved  on  March 
11,  1814. 

Andrew  Erwin  is  the  man  to  whom  Bishop  Asbury  refers  as  "a 
chief  man."  He  was  born  in  Virginia  about  1773,  and  died  at  his 
residence  near  the  War  Trace  in  Bedford  County,  Tennessee,  in  1833. 
When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  entered  the  employment  of  James 
Patton,  with  whom  he  soon  afterwards  went  into  partnership  as  inn- 
keeper and  merchant  at  Wilkesborough,  North  Carolina.  In  1800  and 
1801  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  North  Carolina 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  145 

from  Wilkes  County.  He  was  Asheville's  first  postmaster.  In  1814 
he  removed  to  Augusta,  Georgia,  and  afterward  carried  on  an  extensive 
mercantile  establishment  as  the  leading  partner  in  various  firms  in 
Savannah,  Charleston,  Nashville,  New  Orleans  and  elsewhere,  but  his 
business  was  unsuccessful  and  ended  in  disaster. 

James  W.  Patton,  the  oldest  son  of  James  Patton  above  men- 
tioned, was  born  February  13,  1803.  He  became  a  merchant  and 
liotel  keeper  in  Asheville  and  conducted  there  a  large  tanyard  and 
several  other  business  undertakings.  For  many  years  he  was  chairman 
of  the  County  Court  of  Buncombe  and  one  of  that  county's  most 
prominent  men.     He  died  in  December,  1861. 

A  granddaughter  of  this  same  James  Patton  mentioned  above, 
Miss  S.  Rose  Morrison,  became  the  wife  of  Albert  T.  Summey,  whose 
long  life  in  Buncombe  County  as  one  of  its  most  worthy  and  best- 
known  inhabitants  reached  down  to  a  time  comparatively  recent.  He 
was  born  in  that  part  of  Lincoln  County  which  is  now  Catawba 
County,  September  1,  1823.  Removing  with  his  father,  George 
Summey,  to  Flat  Rock  now  in  Henderson  County,  North  Carolina,  he 
was  in  business  there  until  1842,  when  he  came  to  Asheville  and  was 
employed  for  six  years  in  a  mercantile  house  into  which,  at  the  end  of 
that  time,  he  bought  an  interest.  In  that  business,  through  various 
changes,  he  continued  up  to  1873.  For  sixteen  years  he  was  treasurer 
of  the  county,  an  office  then  known  as  County  Trustee,  and  for  several 
years  treasurer  of  the  Buncombe  Turnpike  Company.  For  thirty-six 
years  he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  for  twenty  years  a  United  States 
Commissioner,  for  the  period  from  1876  to  1881  Mayor  of  Asheville, 
and  for  many  years  held  other  places  of  trust  in  the  community.  He 
die^in  Asheville,  April  16,  1906. 

^^""^'IvL  1808  the  County  of  Haywood  was  created  out  of  Buncombe's 
territory,  and  included  all  of  Western  North  Carolina  beyond  Bun- 
combe County.  The  description  of  the  part  of  Buncombe  County 
takeiyo  make  the  County  of  Haywood  is  as  follows : 

"That  all  that  part  of  the  county  of  Buncombe,  to  wit:  beginning 
where  the  southern  boundary  line  of  this  state  crosses  the  highest  part 
of  the  ridge  dividing  the  waters  of  the  French  Broad  from  those  of  the 
Tucky  Siegy  River,  then  along  the  said  ridge  to  the  ridge  dividing  the 


146  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

waters  of  Pigeon  and  the  French  Broad  River,  then  with  said  ridge 
to  the  top  of  ^Nlount  Pisgah,  thence  a  direct  line  to  the  mounth  of  the 
first  branch  emptying  into  Hominy  Creek  on  the  north  side  above 
Jesse  Belieu's,  thence  with  said  branch  to  the  source,  and  thence 
along  the  top  of  the  ridge,  dividing  the  waters  of  French  Broad  and 
those  of  Pigeon  River,  to  the  northern  boundary  of  this  state,  and  with 
the  state  line  to  the  line  which  shall  divide  this  state  from  the  state  of 
Georgia,  and  with  that  line  to  the  beginning,  shall  be  and  is  hereby 
erected  into  a  separate  and  distinct  county,  by  the  name  of  Haywood, 
i^honor  of  the  present  treasurer  of  this  state." 

The  eastern  part  of  North  Carolina,  having  been  the  first  settled 
by  white  people,  controlled,  of  course,  the  government  of  the  State. 
The  creation  of  every  new  county  in  the  western  part  of  the  State  gave 
to  that  part  at  least-  one  additional  member  of  the  State  legislature. 
Soon  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  grew  exceedingly  apprehensive  that 
its  control  of  the  State  government  would  be  destroyed  by  the  creation 
of  new  counties  in  the  west.  Hence  they  refused  to  consent  to  the 
foundation  of  a  new  western  county  unless,  at  the  same  time,  a  new 
eastern  county  was  formed.  This  explains  the  fact  that  the  same  act 
which  created  the  western  County  of  Haywood  created  also  the  eastern 
County  of  Columbus. 

In  1833  another  part  of  Buncombe's  territory  was  taken  to  help 
make  the  County  of  Yancey.  In  1838  still  more  of  Buncombe's  terri- 
tory was  taken  away  to  form  the  County  of  Henderson,  and  in  1850 
she  lost  more  of  her  territory  when  the  new  County  of  Madison  was 
Unmade;  then,  in  1851,  some  more  to  the  County  of  Henderson. 

The  first  settlers  of  Buncombe  County  were  chiefly  Presbyterians, 
Methodists  and  Baptists.  For  some  time  the  only  preaching  which 
they  had  was  by  travelling  preachers.  Soon,  however,  churches  began 
to  be  established,  and  houses  of  worship  built.  The  earliest  Presby- 
terian congregations  were  at  Swannanoa  (afterward  called  Piney 
Grove),  Reems  Creek,  Asheville,  and  Cane  Creek.  The  earliest  Metho- 
dist congregations  were  at  Beaverdam  (Killian's),  Salem  Camp- 
ground (Weaverville),  Asheville,  and  Turkey  Creek  Camp-ground; 
and  the  earliest  Baptist  at  Asheville,  Green  River,  and  Ivy. 

The  first  church  building  in  Asheville  appears  to  have  been  where 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  147 

the  Newton  Academy  now  is.  For  some  time  there  had  been  a  small 
combined  church  and  school  house  there,  when  on  July  11,  1803, 
William  Foster,  Jr.,  conveyed  the  land  on  which  it  stood  "including 
an  old  school  house  with  a  new  one,  and  a  frame  Dwelling  house,  a 
spring,  &c,"  containing  eight  acres,  to  "Andrew  Erwin,  Daniel  Smith, 
John  Patton,  Edmond  Sams,  James  Blakely,  William  Foster,  Senr., 
Thomas  Foster,  Jur.,  William  Whitson,  William  Gudger,  Samuel 
Murray,  Joseph  Henry,  David  Vance,  William  Brittain,  George 
Davidson,  John  Davidson  of  Hominy,  and  the  Reverend  George  New- 
ton," as  a  gift  "for  the  Further  Maintenance  and  support  of  the  gospel, 
and  teaching  a  Latin  and  English  school  or  either,  as  may  be  thought 
most  proper,  from  time  to  time,  by  the  above  named  Trustees  or  a 
majority  of  them,  or  their  successors  in  office,  he  the  said  William 
Foster  reserving  to  himself  an  Equal  Interest  and  privilege  with  the 
above  named  trustees  and  to  be  considered  as  one  of  them  in  all  future 
proceedings  so  long  as  he  continues  to  act  as  trustee.  .  .  .  for  a 
place  of  residence,  for  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  teacher  of  Latin  and 
English  School  or  Either  as  may  be  thought  the  most  proper,"  with  a 
provision  for  substitution  of  trustees  in  case  of  death,  refusal  or  in- 
ability to  act,  and  with  further  provision  that  "there  shall  at  all  times 
be  eleven  trustees  in  the  neighborhood  of  said  institution  who  live 
convenient  enough  to  send  their  Children  to  said  school  or  schools  from 
them  their  Ow^n  Dwelling  houses  and  two  from  the  Reverend  George 
Newton's  present  congregation  on  Cain  Creek,  and  two  from  his 
present  congregation  on  the  waters  of  Rims  creek,  and  One  from  his 
present  Congregation  in  the  neighborhood  of  Robert  Patton's  meeting 
house,  and  one  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  mouth  of  Hominy  who 
shall  be  so  appointed  and  approved  of  from  time  to  time."  (Record 
Book  4,  page  678.) 

"Robert  Patton's  meeting  house"  was  the  predecessor  of  Piney 
Grove  near  the  present  town  of  Swannanoa,  and  was  on  the  side  of  the 
mountain  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  east  of  Piney  Grove  to  which 
it  gave  way. 

Again  on  November  15,  1809,  said  William  Forster,  Jr.,  conveyed 
three  and  one-fourth  acres  of  land  adjoining  this  on  the  south  "includ- 
ing the  brick  house  now  building  to  Andrew  Erwin,  Daniel  Smith, 


148  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

John  Patton,  Edmond  Sams,  George  Swain,  William  Forster,  Sr., 
Benjm.  Hawkins,  Thomas  Foster,  Jr.,  James  Patton,  William 
Gudger,  Sr.,  David  Vance,  William  Brittain,  Samuel  Murray,  Sr., 
John  McLane,  William  McLane,  William  Moore,  Sr.,  Samuel  David- 
son, and  the  Rev.  George  Ne\\1;on,  Trustees  of  the  Union  Hill 
Academy,"  "established  by  an  act  of  assembly  a  seminary  of  learning 
in  chapter  43  in  the  year  1805."  This  William  Forster,  Jr.,  was  a 
brother  of  Captain  Thomas  Foster  above  mentioned  and  a  son  of 
William  Forster,  Sr.,  above  spoken  of.  Union  Hill  Academy  was  a 
log  house,  which  was  removed  in  1809,  and  a  brick  house  took  its  place. 
In  the  same  year  its  name  was  changed  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  to 
Newton  Academy.  Here  for  many  years  the  people  attending  preach- 
ing, sent  their  children  to  school  and  buried  their  dead.  In  1857 
or  1858  the  brick  building  between  the  present  academy  and  the  grave- 
yard was  removed  and  the  brick  academy  now  there  was  erected.  (See 
Clayton  vs.  Trustees,  95  N.  C.  Reports,  298.) 

From  1797  to  1814  this  George  Newton  taught  a  classical  school 
at  this  place,  which  was  famous  throughout  several  States.  !Mr.  Newton 
was  a  Presbyterian  preacher  and  reported  to  the  synod  at  Bethel 
Church,  South  Carolina,  October  18,  1798,  as  having  been  received  by 
ordination  by  the  Presbytery  of  Concord.  (Footers  Sketches  of  North 
Carolina,  page  297.)  He  lived  on  Swannanoa  until  1814,  when  he 
removed  to  Bedford  County,  Tennessee.  There  for  many  years  he  was 
principal  of  Dickson  Academy  and  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
at  Shelbyville,  and  there  died  about  1841. 

The  first  church  building  in  Asheville  appears  to  have  been  the 
old  log  church  used  by  the  Baptists,  which  stood  at  the  Melke  place. 
It  was  probably  built  about  1829,  and  it  remained  standing  until  about 
1842.  They  never  owned  the  land  on  which  it  was  built.  Their  next 
church  was  at  the  corner  of  Spruce  and  Woodfin  streets  on  land  con- 
veyed August  21,  1863,  by  Herman  Franze  to  David  Garren,  C.  C. 
Matthews,  G.  N.  Alexander,  J.  F.  Sullivan  and  G.  W.  Shackelford, 
trustees  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  the  town  of  Asheville.  (Record 
Book  27,  page  387.) 

This  structure  still  stands,  although  on  July  11,  1890,  the  con- 
gregation bought  a  lot  at  the  corner  of  Spruce  and  College  streets,  and 


Asheville  and  Buncovibe  County 


149 


after  erecting  on  it  a  very  handsome  church  edifice,  removed  to  it,  and 
have  ever  since  occupied  it.  The  old  church  is  now  a  Jewish 
Synagogue. 

Apparently  the  next  church  after  that  at  the  Melke  place  built  in 
Asheville  was  an  inferior  frame  structure  of  the  Methodists.  On  July 
20,  1839,  James  M.  Alexander  gave  and  conveyed  the  land  on  which 
this  building  had  been  put  "including  the  building  erected  for  a  female 
academy  and  Methodist  E.  church,  and  the  Sunday  School  house,"  to 


AsheviUe-Central   cChuich   Street)   M.   E.   Church.  South,   1857-1903 


150  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

''William  Coleman,  Israel  Baird,  Wilie  Jones,  J.  F.  E.  Hardy,  N.  W. 
Woodfin,  James  M.  Alexander,  Geo.  W.  Jones,  James  M.  Smith  and 
Joshua  Roberts,  Trustees,"  as  a  gift  "for  the  use  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  when  the  same  is  not  in  the  occupancy  of  the 
said  M.  E.  Church,  ministers  of  any  other  regular  orthodox  denomi- 
nation of  Christians  who  shall  come  duly  authorized  by  their  respective 
churches  and  whose  moral  and  religious  character  and  habits  are 
unexceptionable,  may  be  authorized  to  occupy  the  same  as  transient 
visitors."  About  1857  this  old  building  was  replaced  by  a  brick 
structure  which,  after  being  remodelled  several  times  was  replaced  by 
the  stone  edifice  w'hich  is  known  as  Central  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  erected  in  1903.  It  stands  on  the  western  side  of 
Church  Street.     (Record  Book  22,  page  359.) 

On  October  8,  1842,  James  Patton  conveyed  to  Charles  Moore, 
James  W.  Patton,  Samuel  Chunn,  John  Hawkins  and  John  B.  White-' 
side,  trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  town  of  Asheville,  a 
portion  of  the  land  on  which  the  Church  Street  Presbyterian  Church 
now  stands.  The  remainder  of  this  is  said  to  have  been  given  by 
Samuel  Chunn  for  the  same  purpose  and  at  about  the  same  time.  The 
church  erected  here  was  a  brick  structure  facing  to  the  east.  This  was 
afterwards  rebuilt  and  then  remodelled  and  afterwards  removed  to  give 
way  to  the  present  church  building  at  the  same  place.  (Record  Book 
22,  page  507.) 

On  April  30,  1359,  James  W.  Patton  gave  the  site  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  on  Church  Street  by  conveying  it  to  "Nicholas  W.  Woodfin, 
Lester  Chapman  and  Hatfield  Ogden,  of  the  Vestry  and  Trustees  of 
Trinity  Church,  Asheville,  and  members  of  the  said  congregation" 
"to  and  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  congregation  of  said  Trinity 
Church  Asheville  worshiping  according  to  the  forms  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  as  set  forth  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  and 
for  no  other  purpose  whatsoever." 

A  brick  church-house  was  erected  in  this  lot.  Later  about  1880 
a  more  commodious  edifice  succeeded  that;  and,  when  the  later 
structure  burned,  the  present  church  was  built  there. 

James  Mitchell  Alexander  was  born  at  the  Alexander  Place  on 
Bee  Tree,  May  22,  1793.    His  grandfather  John  Alexander,  of  Scotch- 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  151 

Irish  descent,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  The  latter  married  Rachel 
Davidson,  sister  to  Major  William  Davidson  and  Samuel  Davidson 
above  mentioned;  lived  in  Rowan  County,  North  Carolina,  but 
removed  to  Lincoln  County,  North  Carolina;  and  resided  there  during 
the  Revolutionary  War.  Afterward  he  came  with  the  very  first  settlers 
to  Buncombe  County,  and,  after  a  few  years,  moved  to  Tennessee,  and 
settled  on  Harpeth  River,  where  he  and  his  wife  died.  His  son,  James 
Alexander,  was  born  in  Rowan  County,  North  Carolina,  December 
23,  1756,  on  Buffalo  Creek.  He  removed  with  his  father  to  Lincoln 
County,  where  they  settled  on  Crowder's  Creek,  near  Kings  Mountain. 
While  living  here  he  fought  on  the  American  side  at  Musgrove's  Mill 
and  Kings  Mountain,  and  a  camp  chest,  said  to  have  belonged  to  Lord 
Cornwallis,  was  captured  by  him  in  that  last  fight  and  is  still  in  Bun- 
combe County.  On  March  19,  1782,  he  married  in  York  District, 
South  Carolina,  Rhoda  Cunningham,  who  was  born  October  15,  1763, 
in  Maryland,  and  removed  to  South  Carolina  before  her  marriage. 
James  Alexander  after  his  marriage  removed  to  Buncombe  County 
with  his  father  and  uncle,  and  settled  on  Bee  Tree,  the  old  Alexander 
Place.  They  came  over  the  Swannanoa  Gap.  The  old  road  through 
this  gap  did  not  cross,  as  it  has  often  been  stated  to  have  done,  at  the 
place  where  the  Long  or  Swannanoa  Tunnel  is.  In  later  years  the 
stage  road  did  cross  at  that  place.  But  the  old  road  crossed  a  half  a 
mile  further  south.  To  travel  it  one  would  not,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
later  road,  leave  Old  Fort  and  pass  up  Mill  Creek  three  miles  to  where 
Henry  Station,  so  long  the  head  of  the  railroad,  stood.  He  would  leave 
Old  Fort  and  go  across  the  creek  directly  west  for  about  a  mile  before 
going  into  the  mountains.  Then  he  would  turn  to  the  right,  ascend  the 
mountain,  cross  it  at  about  one-half  mile  south  of  Swannanoa  Tunnel, 
and  thence  pass  down,  the  mountain  until  his  road  joined  the  later  road 
above  the  town  of  Black  Mountain. 

This  James  Alexander  was  the  James  Alexander  who  was  one  of 
the  justices  of  Buncombe  County's  first  County  Court  who  organized 
that  county  in  1792.  The  United  States  paid  him  a  pension  through- 
out his  later  life  for  his  services  in  the  Revolutionary  War;  and,  after 
his  death  on  June   28,   1844,  in  Buncombe  County,  continued  the 


152 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


pension  to  his  widow,  Mrs.  Rhoda  Alexander,  until  her  death  at  the 
same  place  on  January  29,  1848. 

James  Alexander  died  at  the  place  where  he  first  settled  on  Bee 
Tree.     He  was  a  Presbvterian. 


Grave  of  James  Alexander— Piney  Grove.     Dark  slab  with  white  piece  inserted 

James  Mitchell  Alexander  was  a  son  of  James  Alexander  and 
Rhoda,  his  wife.  On  September  8,  1814,  he  married  Nancy  Foster, 
oldest  child  of  Captain  Thomas  Foster  above  mentioned,  who  was  born 
November  17,  1797.  In  1816  James  Mitchell  Alexander  removed  to 
Asheville  and  bought  and  improved  the  property  on  the  west  side  of 
South  ;Main  Street  known  as  the  Milliard  residence.  On  this  he  erected 
the  old  house  which  was  removed  in  1889  in  widening  the  street  and 
stood  just  at  the  turn  in  the  street.  By  trade  he  was  a  saddler,  and  at 
this  house  lived  until  1828,  carrying  on  his  trade  and  keeping  a  hotel. 
At  the  last  mentioned  date,  upon  the  opening  of  the  Buncombe  Turn- 
pike, part  of  which  he  built  as  a  contractor,  he  bought  and  improved 
the  place  on  the  eastern  side  of  French  Broad  River  at  Alexander's 
known  in  the  early  days  as  the  "Alexander  Hotel"  and  "French 
Broad.''     Here  for  a  great  many  years  he  conducted  a  hotel  and  mer- 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  153 

chandise  business,  and  carried  on  a  tanyard,  a  shoe-shop,  a  harness- 
shop,  a  blacksmith-shop,  a  grist  mill,  a  saw  mill,  a  farm  and  a  wagon- 
shop.  His  hotel  was  famous  from  Cincinnati  to  Charleston  for  its 
superior  accommodations.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  turned  over 
his  business  to  his  son,  the  late  A.  M.  Alexander,  and  one  of  his  sons- 
in-law,  the  late  J.  S.  Burnett,  and  improved  a  place  three  miles  nearer 
Asheville  called  Montrealla.  Here  he  died  on  June  11,  1858,  and  was 
buried  in  his  family  burying  ground  about  a  half  a  mile  away  at 
Alexander's  Chapel,  a  church  named  in  his  honor  and  built  by  him. 
He  accumulated  a  good  property.  His  wife  survived  him  a  few  years 
and  died  January  14,  1862,  and  is  buried  by  his  side.  They  were 
Methodists.. 

Reference  has  several  times  been  made  to  James  ]M.  Smith.  He 
was  the  first  white  child  born  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  North  Caro- 
lina. His  father.  Colonel  Daniel  Smith,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  after 
considerable  experience  in  the  Indian  wars,  and  as  a  soldier  on  the 
American  side  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  removed  to  Buncombe,  then 
Burke,  and  settled  immediately  east  of  the  railroad  at  the  first  branch 
above  the  passenger  station  at  Asheville,  on  the  hill  just  north  of  the 
branch  where  his  cabin  stood  for  many  years,  and  where  he  died  May 
17,  1824.  He  was  buried  with  military  honors  on  the  hill  where  Ferni- 
hurst  now  stands;  but  about  1875  his  body  was  removed  to  the  Newton 
Acadeniy  graveyard  where  it  now  rests.  The  curious  and  interesting 
inscription  on  his  tombstone  is  as  follows : 

"In  memory  of  Col.  Daniel  Smith,  who  departed  this  life  on  the 
17th  May,  1824,  Aged  67.  A  native  of  New  Jersey,  an  industrious 
citizen,  an  honest  man,  and  a  brave  soldier.  The  soil  which  inurns 
his  ashes  is  a  part  of  the  heritage  wrested  by  his  valour  for  his  children 
and  his  country  from  a  ruthless  and  savage  foe." 

His  old  rifle  is  still  in  Asheville.  His  widow,  Mary  Smith,  who 
w^as  a  daughter  of  Major  William  Davidson  above  mentioned,  died 
April  29,  1842,  in  the  82d  year  of  her  age  and  is  buried  by  his  side. 

At  the  home  place  of  Colonel  Daniel  Smith  just  described  was 
born  on  January  7,  1894,  his  son,  James  McConnell  Smith.  The  latter 
married  Polly  Patton,  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Patton  hereinbefore 
mentioned. 


154  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

He  settled  in  Asheville,  and  began  at  the  old  Buck  Hotel  and  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  street  his  long  and  singularly  successful  career 
as  hotel  keeper,  merchant  and  manufacturer  of  several  kinds  of  articles. 
He  also  conducted  farming  on  a  large  scale,  and  for  many  years  kept 
a  tanyard  in  the  valley  of  Gash's  Creek  between  where  South  Main 
Street  crosses  that  stream  and  where  Southside  Avenue  first  crossses  it 
going  from  the  public  square  in  Asheville.  He  was  a  large  landowner 
in  Asheville,  and  its  vicinity,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  a  very 
wealthy  man.  He  died  on  December  11,  1853,  and  was  buried  at  the 
graveyard  of  his  family  where  Fernihurst  is  now;  but  in  1875  his  body 
was  removed  to,  and  now  rests  in,  the  Newton  Academy  graveyard. 
His  wife  had  died  in  1843.  A  numerous  family  of  children  and 
descendants  survive  him,  and  are  yet  living  in  Buncombe  County  and 
elsewhere  in  the  United  States. 

On  August  12,  1869,  W.  D.  Rankin  and  wife,  E.  L.  Rankin,  con- 
veyed what  has  since  been  known  as  Catholic  Hill  to  Rev.  James 
Gibbons  for  a  Catholic  Church.  About  1874  or  1875  the  Catholics 
built  on  this  lot  the  brick  structure  used  by  them  for  many  years  as  a 
church,  but  in  1889  they  bought  the  lot  on  Haywood  Street  at  the 
comer  of  Flint  and  erected  on  it  a  Catholic  Church,  first  a  frame  and 
la.ter  a  brick  building,  the  last  now  standing  and  very  handsome. 

The  first  female  school  in  Asheville  was  that  conducted  by  John 
Dickson,  D.D.,  M.D.,CTn  the  building  which  stood  on  the  site  of  a 
portion  of  the  Drhumor  Block)  His  music  teacher  had  conceived  the 
idea  of  studying  medicine.  He  taught  her  in  this  science,  and  later 
gave  her  material  assistance.  She  was  Elizabeth  Blackwell,  and  after- 
wards became  the  first  woman  doctor  who  ever  received  a  medical 
diploma  in  the  United  States.  This  school,  through  various  changes 
from  time  to  time,  was  later  the  Asheville  College  for  Young  Women. 

In  1846,  the  late  Stephen  Lee,  a  South  Carolinian,  opened  first  at 
the  Thornton  place  near  Swannanoa  River  and  later  at  his  residence  in 
Chunn's  Cove,  now  occupied  by  the  Messrs.  Armstrong,  a  boys'  school. 
This  he  continued  to  teach  until  1879,  the  time  of  his  death,  except 
during  the  war,  when  he  was  a  colonel  in  the  Confederate  service,  and 
one  session,  which  he  taught  in  conjunction  with  Mr.   Sturgeon,  a 


Presbyterian  preacher,  in  1867,  at  thlNewton  Academy.    Probably  no 


3IVJU 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  155 

local  school  ever  had  a  greater  fame,  a  wider  patronage,  or  a  better 
teacher  than  Colonel  Lee's.  ■Men  from  all  parts  of  the  south  sent  their 
boys  here  to  school,  and  it  was  nothing  unusual  to  meet  in  any  of  the 
Southern  States  with  a  man  whose  education  was  begun  at  Colonel 
Lee's  school  near  Asheville.  He  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and  a| 
strict  disciplinarian,  but  a  kind  hearted  man. 

And  yet  we  arc  told  that  in  the  face  of  these  facts,  a  few  years  ago 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  "Mr.  Campbell,  of  Ohio,  was 
showing  the  percentage  of  population  as  to  reading,  and  found  Bun- 
combe County,  ::orth  Carolina,  the  lowest."  (Why  We  Laugh,  by 
Samuel  S.  Cc:,  page  242.) 

Asheville's  first  newspaper,  established  about  1840,  was  the 
Highland  Me.sscngar.  It  was  edited  by  D.  R.  McAnally,  who  was  a 
Methodist  preacher  and  later  a  Methodist  editor  in  Saint  Louis 
Missouri,  where  he  died  in  July,  1895^  He  was  born  in  Granger 
County,  Tennessee,  February  17,  1810,  and  became  a  preacher  when 
he  was  nineteen  years  old.  For  some  years  he  engaged  in  preaching 
and  came  to  Asheville  in  that  work,  living  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  the 
north  side  of  Woodfin  Street  a  little  east  of  the  mouth  of  Vance  Street. 
He  edited  the  Highland  Messenger,  a  weekly  paper,  for  three  years, 
and  in  1843  went  to  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  where,  for  eight  years,  he 
had  charge  of  a  female  school,  four  years  of  which  he  also  edited  a 
religious  newspaper  there.  In  1851  he  went  to  Saint  Louis,  Missouri, 
and  there  for  many  years  was  editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate,  and 
was  superintendent  of  a  Methodist  book  concern.  When  the  war  on 
the  South  was  conducted  he  was  imprisoned  and  suffered  much  for  his 
outspoken  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  South.  He  was  the  author  of 
Life  of  Martha  Laurens  Ramsey  (1852),  Life  and  Times  of  Rev. 
William  Patton  (1856),  Life  and  Times  of  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Patton 
(1857),  Life  and  Labors  of  Bishop  Marvin  (1878),  History  of  Metho- 
dism in  Missouri  (1881),  and  a  large  number  of  pamphlets.  His 
second  wife  was  a  sister  of  Dr.  R.  H.  Reeves  of  Asheville. 

Such  was  Asheville's  and  western  North  Carolina's  first  editor. 
The  publishers  of  the  Highland  Messenger  were  Joshua  Roberts  above 
mentioned  and  his  brother-in-law,  John  H.  Christy,  who  later  removed 


1 56  Asheville  and  Biincomhe  County 

to  Athens,  Georgia,  where  he  published  the  Southern  Watchman.  The 
first  newspaper  published  in  Asheville  more  frequently  than  once  a 
week  was  the  Journal,  owned  and  edited  by  W.  H.  Deaver,  and  pub- 
lished by  him  semi-weekly  in  1879  on  the  western  side  of  the  Public 
Square  a  little  north  of  the  present  Smith  Drug  Store.  The  Asheville 
Citizen  soon  thereafter  began  to  issue,  besides  its  weekly  edition,  the 
first  daily  newspaper  published  in  Asheville. 


Chapter  XII 

"^^  CALHOUN'S  PREDICTION 

A  SHEVILLE  and  its  vicinity  was  a  favorite  summer  resort  of 
/\  John  C.  Calhoun.  Probably  no  greater  triumph  of  inductive 
•^  -^  reasoning  could  anyv;here  be  found  than  the  process  by  which 
that  extraordinary  man,  merely  by  an  examination  of  the  map,  reached 
the  conclusion  long  before  the  facts  had  been  demonstrated  by  measure- 
ment, that  in  the  Black  Mountains  near  Asheville  was  the  highest  land 
in  the  United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  repeatedly 
declared  this  to  be  the  fact  to  Governor  Swain  and  others  before  any 
measurement  of  those  altitudes  had  been  made.  Finally,  in  1835,  and 
1844,  Elisha  Mitchell,  D.D.,  who  had  been  professor  of  mathematics 
and  natural  philosophy  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  then 
held  in  that  institution  the  chair  of  chemistry,  mineralogy  and  geology, 
measured  these  mountains,  and  found  one  of  them  to  be,  as  Calhoun 
had  declared  he  would,  the  highest  peak  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Dr.  Mitchell  was  born  in  Washington,  Litchfield  County,  Connecticut, 
August  19,  1793.  After  graduating  in  Yale  College  in  1815,  he  was 
elected  to  a  chair  in  the  North  Carolina  University  in  1817,  was  mar- 
ried in  1819,  ordained  by  Orange  Presbytery  in  1821,  made  professor 
of  chemistry,  mineralogy  and  geology  at  the  University  in  1825,  became 
Doctor  Divinity  in  1840,  and  died  June  27,  1857. 

A  controversy  arose  between  him  and  the  late  General  T.  L.  Cling- 
man  as  to  who  had  first  measured  the  highest  peak.  Dr.  Mitchell 
undertook  to  establish  his  claim,  and  was  proceeding  through  these 
mountains  to  Big  Tom  Wilson's  in  order  to  get  up  evidence  for  this 
purpose,  when,  being  overtaken  by  night,  he  fell  over  a  declivity  and 
was  drowned  at  what  was  afterwards  called  Mitchell's  Fall  on  Cat 
Tail  Creek  of  Cane  River  in  Yancey  County,  near  the  scene  of  his 
greatest  achievement.  For  days  his  disappearance  could  not  be  ac- 
counted for,  and  numerous  parties  from  all  directions  flocked  to  the 
mountains  in  search  for  him.  At  last  his  body  was  found  and  brought 
to  Asheville,  where  it  was  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  the  Presbyterian 


158 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


Mitchell's  Falls— Yancey  County     Cat-tail  Branch  of  Cancy  River    Scene  of  Death  of 
Dr.  Elisha  Mitchell  in  1857 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  159 

Church  on  Church  Street.  Later  it  was  removed  and  reburied  on  the 
top  of  the  highest  peak  of  the  Black  Mountains,  named  in  his  honor, 
Mitchell's  Peak.  Here  a  monument  has  in  late  years  been  erected 
to  him. 

There  was  no  dispute  as  to  Clingman's  having  measured  the  high 
peak  in  1855  or  as  to  Mitchell's  having  measured  peaks  of  the  Black 
Mountain  in  1844.  The  only  question  was  as  to  whether  or  not 
Mitchell  had  measured  the  high  peak  in  1844.  In  this  last  mentioned 
year  his  guide  had  been  Thomas  Wilson  of  Yancey  County,  commonly 
called  "Big  Tom  Wilson";  and  when  Mitchell  lost  his  life  he  was  on 
the  way  to  the  home  of  Wilson  in  order  to  secure  a  statement  from  the 
latter  that  the  high  peak  was  one  of  those  which  Mitchell  had  measured 
the  altitude  of  in  1844.  It  was  Wilson  who  led  the  party  that  dis- 
covered Mitchell's  dead  body.  For  years  following  this,  great  num- 
bers of  people  visited  Mitchell's  Peak  every  summer,  approaching  it 
by  way  of  the  North  Fork  of  Swannanoa.  At  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains near  which  has  been  for  years  the  "intake"  of  the  Asheville 
Waterworks,  was  built  a  house  for  the  entertainment  of  the  visitors 
and  halfway  up  the  mountain,  five  miles  above  that  house,  Mr.  William 
Patton,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  built  another  house  where  such 
visitors  might  spend  the  night,  and  for  some  time  he  kept  it  up. 
Finally  durin.sj  the  war  on  the  South  this  latter  house,  commonly  called 
the  "Mountain  House,"  or  Half-way  House,"  was  left  without  any  one 
to  care  for  it  and  at  last  decayed  and  fell.  Years  later  visitors  to 
Mitchell's  Peak  began  to  reach  it  from  the  town  of  Black  Mountain 
over  the  peak  called  Greybeard  and  later  over  a  lodging  railroad. 

Mitchell's  Peak  has  been  variously  called  Mitchell's  Peak, 
Mitchell's  High  Peak,  Clingman's  Peak,  Black  Dome,  and  some- 
times Mount  Mitchell,  although  this  last  name  has  also  been  given  to 
another  peak  of  the  same  range  a  few  miles  away.  According  to  the 
measurements  of  A.  Guyot  the  high  peak  is  6,701  feet  above  sea-level 
at  its  top,  but  a  later  measurement  of  Professor  Turner  puts  its  altitude 
at  6,711  feet.  T.  L.  Clingman  made  it  6,941  feet  and  Dr.  Mitchell 
made  it  6,708  feet  high,  although  the  latter's  former  measurement  was 
6,772  feet. 


160 


AsheviUe  and  Buncomhc  County 


Mitchells  Peak 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  161 

Mitchell  had  been  led  to  measure  the  heights  of  peaks  in  these 
mountains  called  the  Black  Mountain  by  the  hope  of  finding  here  the 
highest  land  in  the  United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  because 
he  found  here  a  greater  variety  of  vegetation  than  anywhere  else  and 
much  of  this  vegetation  towards  the  tops  of  the  mountains  in  "the 
Black'-  was  of  a  character  that  belonged  only  to  high  altitudes  or  far 
northern  latitudes. 

About  1873  the  United  States  established  and  for  some  time  main- 
tained on  the  top  of  Mitchell's  Peak  a  meteorological  signal  station  and 
built  there  a  log  cabin  in  which  the  men  so  employed  lived.  Their  food 
und  other  supplies  were  carried  to  them  from  the  settlement  ten  miles 
cr  more  below  chiefly  by  the  late  Charles  Glass  on  his  back. 

When  about  the  year  1836  a  railroad  from  Cincinnati  to  Charles- 
ton, which  should  pass  through  Asheville,  was  projected,  Robert  Y. 
Hayne,  the  great  South  Carolinian,  who  had  vanquished  Daniel 
Webster  in  debate  and  cowed  Andrew  Jackson  in  resolution,  was  made 
its  president.  At  a  meeting  of  this  company,  held  in  Asheville  in  1839, 
J\Ir.  Hayne,  who  had  continued  to  be  its  president,  became  dangerously 
ill  and  died  here  September  24,  18^9.  Jn 

During  the  war  on  the  South,  Asheville  became  in  a  small  way  i   ^ 
military  centre.     Confederate  troops  were  from  time  to  time  encamped    J 
at  Camp  Patton,  at  Camp  Clingman  on  French  Broad  Avenue  andlt^ 
Philip  Street,  at  the  crossing  of  Flint  Street  and  Cherry  Street  on  the! 
north  sidj^of  Flint  Street  called  Camp  Jeter,  on  Battery  Park  hill  then! 
Battery  Porter,  on  Beaucatcher  Peak  now  called  Beaumont,  on  Woodfin 
Street  opposite  the  former  site  of  the  Oaks  Hotel,  on  Montford  Avenue 
near  the  residence  of  J.  E.  Rumbough,  on  the  hill  near  the  end  of  River- 
side Drive  north  of  T.  S.  Morrison's,  and  on  the  ridge  immediately 
east  of  the  place  where  North  Main  Street  last  crosses  Glenn's  Creek, 
just  before  reaching  French  Broad  River,  once  owned  by  the  childrenA 
of  the  late  N.  W.  Woodfin. /At  this  last  place,  on  April  5,  1865,  a 
battle  was  fought  between  tfe  Confederate  troops  at  Asheville  and  a 
detachment  of  United  States  troops,  who  came  up  the  French  Broad 
River.    The  latter  was  defeated  and  compelled  to  return  into  Tennessee. 
This  was  the  battle  of  Asheville. 


162  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

In  1869  S.  C.  Shelton,  who  had  just  removed  from  Virginia  and 
settled  in  Chunn's  Cove,  introduced  into  Buncombe  County  the  culture 
of  tobacco,  which  theretofore  had*  been  raised  in  that  region  only  in 
small  patches  planted  by  old  women  and  negroes.  Soon  tobacco  came 
to  be  the  chief  crop  of  the  farmer  and  in  tw^o  or  three  years  equally  so 
in  Madison  and  other  adjoining  counties.  About  1888  Asheville  had 
six  or  seven  large  warehouses  devoted,  in  the  season  for  sales,  to  the 
marketing  of  tobacco  raised  in  Western  North  Carolina,  which  was 
said  to  be  the  finest  and  best  in  the  world.  Packing-houses  were 
numerous  throughout  the  business  parts  of  the  city,  but  the  ware- 
houses were  on  the  site  of  the  present  Millard  Building  at  the  corner  of 
North  Main  and  Walnut  streets,  and  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Swannanoa  Hotel  on  South  Main  Street,  and  on  Valley  Street,  and  at 
the  northwestern  corner  of  Walnut  Street  and  Lexington  Avenue  (then 
called  Water  Street),  and  at  the  southeastern  corner  of  Patton  Avenue 
and  Bailey  Street  (now  Asheland  Avenue)  where  is  now  the  street-car 
building.  In  two  or  three  years  more  the  business  had  disappeared 
and  a  very  few^  pounds  of  tobacco  were  raised  in  Western  North  Caro- 
lina. The  danger  from  early  frosts,  the  labor  and  risk  in  curing,  and 
the  variations  in  prices,  have  all  been  assigned  as  reasons  for  this 
sudden  change  in  farming,  while  some  tobacco-buyers  said  that  the  soil 
no  longer  produced  as  fine  a  quality  of  the  article  as  before. 

The  Confederate  postoffice  was  in  the  old  Buck  Hotel  building  on 
North  Main  Street,  now  Langren.  The  Confederate  commissary  was 
on  the  east  side  of  North  Main  Street  between  the  Public  Square  and 
College  Street.  This  old  building  was  afterwards  removed  to  Patton 
Avenue,  whence  it  w^as  removed  again  to  give  way  to  a  brick  building;. 
The  Confederate  hospital  stood  on  the  grounds  afterwards  occupied 
by  the  Legal  Building.  The  chief  armories  of  the  Confederate  States 
were  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina,  but 
there  were  two  smaller  establishments,  one  at  Asheville,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  the  other  at  Tallahassee,  Alabama.  (1  Davis's  Rise  and 
Fall  of  the  Confederate  Government,  page  480.) 

The  armory  at  Asheville  was  in  charge  of  an  Englishman  by  the 
name  of  Riley  as  chief  machinist.  It  stood  on  the  branch  immediately 
east  of  where  Vallev  Street  crosses  it.     About  a  hundreds  yards  or  a 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  163 

little  more  north  of  it  was  the  armorer's  house  on  the  same  lot.  Here 
when  North  Carolina  was  one  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America, 
the  Confederate  flag  from  a  high  flag  pole  was  constantly  displayed. 
There  it  floated  in  the  breeze  and  rested  in  the  sunlight,  the  emblem 

*'0f  liberty  bom  of  a  patriot's  dream. 
Of  a  storm-cradled  nation  that  fell." 

These  buildings  were  burned  by  the  United  States  troops  when 
they  entered  the  town  in  the  latter  part  of  April,  1865. 

In  1840  the  charter  of  the  City  of  Asheville  was  amended  by  an 
act  of  the  Legislature,  Chapter  58,  which  recites  that 

"The  main  street  in  Asheville  is  too  narrow,  and  the  laying  out  of 
one  or  more  cross  streets  and  the  ascertaining  the  extent  of  the  public 
square  and  the  boundaries  of  the  village  and  the  encroachments  upon 
same  are  demanded  by  the  public  convenience";  and  appoints  Philip 
Brittain,  Thomas  Foster  and  James  Gudger  as  commissioners  to  buy 
land  for  widening  the  street,  and  making  cross  streets,  and  for  other 
purposes.  Afterwards,  on  January  11,  1841,  the  Legislature  passed 
another  amendatory  statute  whereby  "James  M.  Smith,  James  W. 
Patton,  N.  W.  Woodiin,  Isaac  T.  Poor  and  James  F.  E.  Hardy"  were 
"incorporated  into  a  body  politic  and  corporate  by  the  name  of  the 
'Board  of  Commissioners  for  the  town  of  Asheville,'  "  with  certain 
powers  therein  defined.  Still  later  by  an  act  ratified  March  8,  1883, 
and  entitled  "An  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  the  town  of  Asheville," 
the  town  of  Asheville  ceased  to  exist  as  such,  and  thenceforth  became 
"The  City  of  Asheville." 

In  1901  another  act  of  the  legislature  enlarged  the  territorial 
limits  of  the  city.  Then  again  on  March  4,  1905,  another  act  was 
passed  further  extending  the  city's  northern  and  southern  borders  until 
at  the  southwestern  corner  they  reached  nearly  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Swannanoa  River,  and  reached  on  the  east  one  hundred  feet  east  of  the 
mountain  crest.  Various  small  municipalities  had  then  recently  been 
incorporated  on  the  northern  and  southern  borders  of  the  city.  On  the 
northern  part  had  been  so  formed  on  February  28,  1889,  the  town  of 
Ramoth,  the  name  of  which  had  been  changed  to  Woolsey,  on  March 
2,  1903.     At  the  same  end  and  further  west  had  been  thus  formed  on 


164  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

February  17,  1893,  the  town  of  Montford.  Then  on  the  southern  end 
had  been  so  formed  on  February  27,  1891,  the  town  of  Kenilworth, 
and  west  of  that  had  been  thus  formed  on  March  7,  1887,  the  town  of 
Victoria.  This  act  of  March  4,  1905,  enlarging  the  city's  limits,  took 
into  these  the  territory  of  Woolsey  and  Montford  and  Victoria  and  part 
of  the  territory  of  Kenilworth  and  repealed  the  charter  of  all  of  these 
small  to\\Tis  except  that  of  Kenilworth,  and  even  the  charter  of  Kenil- 
worth in  so  far  as  it  related  to  territory  formerly  belonging  to  that 
municipality  but  now  transferred  to  the  City  of  Asheville.  On 
February  9,  1889,  the  legislature  had  incorporated  the  town  of  West 
Asheville  for  territory  opposite  Asheville  and  on  the  western  side  of 
French  Broad  River.  This  charter  was  repealed  on  March  8,  1897; 
but  the  town  was  reincorporated  on  March  6,  1913.  On  March 
5,  1917,  provision  was  made  in  an  act  of  legislature  for  a  consolidation 
of  West  Asheville  with  the  City  of  Asheville  if  so  approved  by  a  vote 
of  the  two  corporations  at  an  election  on  the  question  to  be  held  in 
June,  1917.  The  election  w^as  held  at  the  time  so  appointed  and 
resulted  favorably  to  the  consolidation  and  West  Asheville  became  a 
part  of  the  City  of  Asheville. 

For  many  years  Asheville  was  the  only  municipal  corporation  in 
Buncombe  County.  After  a  while  a  good  number  of  small  towTis  within 
that  county  were,  from  time  to  time,  incorporated  by  special  legislative 
enactments 

On  September  7,  1832,  there  was  formed  at  what  is  now  the 
southern  end  of  Weaverville  a  campmeeting  place  called  "Salem." 
Adjoining  this  was  a  church  building  provided  for  on  the  north  on 
September  20,  1844.  Then,  on  December  19,  1849,  was  provided  a 
Methodist  Parsonage  on  the  east;  and  on  June  17,  1851,  a  Temper- 
ance Hall  and  school  house  adjoining  the  church  and  camp  ground  on 
the  west.  Then  a  college  on  the  north  of  the  church  and  Temperance 
Hall  lots  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  Weaverville  College  on 
December  15,  1873.  At  this  place,  on  March  16,  1875,  was  formed  by 
legislative  charter  the  town  of  Weaversville,  which  on  ]March  8,  1909, 
was  made  the  town  of  Weaverville  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  then 
passed.  Some  years  before  the  war  on  the  South  a  settlement  on  New- 
found Creek  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Buncombe  County  was  named 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  165 

Leicester  in  honor  of  Mr.  Leicester  Chapman,  a  naturalized  English- 
man then  engaged  in  merchandizing  at  the  place.  To  the  public, 
however,  it  soom  became  somewhat  jocularly  known  as  "Lick  Skillet" 
and  even  as  "The  Skillet."  Even  yet  the  name  of  Leicester  is  pro- 
nounced in  the  neighborhood  by  many  people  just  as  it  is  spelled  and 
not  as  the  English  pronunciation  of  Lester  would  have  it.  The  town 
was  incorporated  on  February  9,  1874,  but  the  act  of  final  incorpora- 
tion was  repealed  March  2,  1905. 

On  March  29,  1880,  the  State  of  North  Carolina  sold  its  interest 
m  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  Company  to  W.  J.  Best  and 
his  associates.  At  that  time  the  railroad  of  that  companv  had  been 
extended  west  to  the  Blue  Ridge  vicinity  but  not  across  to  where  is 
now  the  town  of  Biltmore.  When  it  reached  that  far  the  place  was 
made  a  station  and  called  Best.  In  May  3,  1888,  Mr.  G.  W.  Vander- 
bilt  began  to  buy  land  in  that  neighborhood  and  erected  on  that  his 
handsome  mansion  (finished  in  1895)  and  Biltmore  Estate.  In  his 
purchase  he  included  Best,  and  built  on  its  site  the  town  of  Biltmore  on 
the  southern  side  of  Swannanoa  River.  That  town  was  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  Biltmore  on  March  6,  1893.  Its  corporate  limits 
were  enlarged  so  as  to  cross  Swannanoa  River  and  take  in  some  land 
to  the  north  of  the  stream  and  the  stream  itself  on  March  6,  1903,  and 
it  now  adjoins  the  City  of  Asheville. 

To  the  south  of  Biltmore  is  the  town  of  South  Biltmore  incor- 
porated February  15,  1895. 
l_  Black  Mountain,  where  for  many  years  before  the  arrival  of  the 
railroad  there  had  been  a  postof&ce  called  Gray  Eagle  at  Mr.  S. 
Dougherty's,  was  incorporated  March  4,  1893;  and  its  close  neighbor 
Montreat  is  the  town  of  the  "Mountain  Retreat  Association,"  incor- 
porated March  2,  1897. 

Arden  was  incorporated  March  13,  1895. 
Alexander  became  a  town  February  21,  1905. 
Swannanoa    was    first    made    a    railroad    station    and    called 
"Cooper's"  in  honor  of  A.  D.  Cooper  who  then  owned  the  land;    but 
soon  the  name  was  changed  to  "Swannanoa." 

Hazel  was  incorporated  February  28,  1891,  and  Jupiter  March 
12,  1895. 


166  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Buena  Vista  was  incorporated  March  4,  1891 ;  but  its  charter  was 
repealed  in  1903.  So,  too,  Inanda  was  incorporated  in  1893  and  its 
charter  was  repealed  ]March  7,  1901. 

Other  places,  such  as  Fairview,  Ridgecrest,  Acton,  Turnpike,  Sky- 
land,  Busbee,  Candler,  and  Barnardsville,  had  grown  up  in  the  county, 
chiefly  since  the  railroads  came. 

The  matter  of  early  roads  in  Buncombe  County  has  been  already 
mentioned.  The  Asheville  Plateau  was  approached  through  gaps  in 
the  surrounding  mountains  although  usually  the  roads  through  these 
gaps  were  scarcely  worthy  of  the  name.  Going  from  Asheville  toward 
the  east  there  vras  a  road  which  passed  up  the  French  Broad  River  and 
over  the  mountains  near  Caesar's  Head  into  what  is  now  Greenville 
County  of  upper  South  Carolina;  then  further  north  the  road 
from  Asheville  ran  by  way  of  the  present  Hendersonville  through 
Saluda  Gap  and  on  to  what  is  now  the  City  of  Greenville,  and  to 
Columbia  in  separate  branches;  then  yet  further  north  was  what  was 
called  the  Howard  Gap  Road  which  left  the  road  to  Saluda  Gap  at 
Fletchers  on  Cane  Creek  and  taking  to  the  east  passed  through 
Howard's  Gap  and  by  way  of  the  modern  Lynn  to  the  town  of  Spartan- 
burg; then  still  further  north  the  Mills  Gap  Road  left  the  road  to 
Saluda  Gap  at  the  present  Busbee  and  ran  by  way  of  Edneyville  across 
Mills's  Gap  at  Point  Lookout  Mountain  down  to  Green  River;  then 
another  road  left  the  Mills  Gap  Road  before  reaching  Mills's  Gap  and 
running  further  east  went  through  Cooper's  Gap  north  of  Mills's  Gap 
and  near  Sugar  Loaf  Mountain ;  then  further  north  still  a  road  known 
as  the  Hickorynut  Gap  Road  turned  to  the  east  at  the  present  town  of 
Biltmore  and  passed  by  the  modern  Fairview  and  through  Sherrill's 
Gap  later  called  Hickorynut  Gap  and  down  Broad  River,  and  a  road 
from  Edneyville  and  on  through  Reedy  Patch  Gap  (the  lowest  gap  in 
these  mountains)  into  the  Hickorynut  Gap  Road  at  little  north  of 
Chimney  Rock,  and  then  still  to  the  north  the  Swannanoa  Road  ran  up 
Swannanoa  River  and  passed  through  Swannanoa  Gap  (originally 
one-half  mile  south  of  the  Big  Tunnel  place  and  later  at  that  place) 
down  Davidson's  Mill  Creek  to  the  Old  Fort.  Going  from  Asheville 
toward  the  west  the  road  ran  to  the  Pigeon  River  at  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Canton  and  on  to  Clyde,  but  forked  with  one  fork 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  167 

passing  down  Pigeon  River  into  Tennessee  and  another  running  on 
west,  one  branch  by  Franklin  and  through  Rabun's  Gap  into  Georgia, 
another  branch  down  Tuckaseigee  and  Little  Tennessee  rivers  into 
Tennessee,  and  a  third  branch  between  them  into  the  present  Cherokee 
County.  From  Asheville  going  to  the  north  the  road  ran  down  French 
Broad  River,  the  Old  Warm  Spring  Road  often  leaving  the  river  to  the 
west  for  considerable  distances,  but  the  later  Buncombe  Turnpike  keep- 
ing near  that  stream's  eastern  or  northern  bank,  passing  opposite  Warm 
Springs  to  Paint  Rock ;  another  road  led  northward  from  Asheville  by 
way  of  the  present  Weaverville  beyond  which  it  forked,  with  the  left 
fork  passing  over  into  Tennessee  in  the  Watauga  region  and  the  right 
fork  running  to  the  modern  town  of  Burnsville.  Mr.  S.  M.  Feather- 
stone  has  aided  me  much  in  locating  some  of  the  eastern  gaps  just 
mentioned. 

Of  these  roads  in  early  days,  that  between  Paint  Rock  and  Saluda 
Gap  was  most  used,  especially  after  the  construction  of  the  Buncombe 
Turnpike,  which  was  for  many  years  kept  in  excellent  repair  by  squads 
of  hands  under  the  direction  of  the  late  Colonel  Enoch  H.  Cunning- 
ham. All  the  more  prosperous  people  of  the  country  kept  handsome 
carriages  and  a  pair  of  fine  horses  whose  only  duty  was  to  draw  the 
vehicle  and  with  a  negro  man  who  generally  gave  his  entire  time  to  the 
care  of  the  carriage  and  its  horses.  At  a  very  early  day  wealthy  men 
from  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  began  to  spend  their  summers  in 
these  mountains  and  came  wdth  their  beautiful  carriages  and  horses. 
Thus,  particularly  in  summer  but  throughout  the  year,  a  traveller  on 
one  of  the  principal  Buncombe  roads,  and  especially  on  the  Buncombe 
Turnpike,  was  sure  to  meet  many  handsome  equipages  on  any  portion 
of  his  journey. 

Then,  too,  even  as  early  as  1800,  stock-raisers  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee  had  begun  to  drive  their  hogs  and  horses  and  cattle  in  large 
droves  through  Buncombe  County  to  the  markets  of  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia.  This  species  of  travel  greatly  increased  when  the  Bun- 
combe Turnpike  was  opened.  To  such  an  extent  was  this  increase  that 
at  the  proper  season  of  the  year  one  passing  along  that  road  in  daytime 
was  scarcely  ever  out  of  sight  and  hearing  of  one  or  more  of  these 
droves.     Even  turkeys  were  driven  to  market  in  the  same  way,  the 


168  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

drivers  using  whips  with  pieces  of  red  flannel  tied  to  the  end  of  the 
lash.  At  one  period  there  passed  through  Asheville  in  these  droves 
every  year  from  140,000  to  160,000  hogs  in  the  months  of  November 
and  December.  For  the  entertainment  of  these  drivers  and  their  droves 
taverns  sprung  up  along  the  road  at  about  every  five  miles  and  their 
capacities  were  often  taxed  to  the  utmost.  The  country  raised  the  corn 
which,  in  enormous  quantities,  was  required  to  meet  the  demands  of 
this  extensive  business.  This  brought  considerable  profits  to  the 
farmers,  the  merchants  and  the  innkeepers,  and  prosperity  to  the  entire 
community.  The  business  of  driving  stock  continued,  though  in  de- 
creasing quantities,  until  about  1870,  w^hen  it  ceased.  Railroads  had 
increased  everywhere  and  furnished  the  stock-raisers  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee  cheaper  and  quicker  methods  of  reaching  the  markets  with 
their  products. 


Chapter  XIII 

IN  1885  occurred  in  Buncombe  County  a  change  in  the  law  regu- 
lating the  care  of  stock  raised  in  that  region.  Before  that  time 
any  one  who  chose  to  do  so  might  turn  out  his  cattle  and  hogs  to 
seek  food  wherever  they  could  find  it.  Of  course,  this  made  it  neces- 
sary for  farmers  to  protect  their  crops  by  surrounding  them  with  fences. 
After  a  while  the  timber  required  for  fences  became  scarce.  Then,  in 
1885,  the  law  was  so  changed  that  owners  of  livestock  must  prevent 
them  from  depredating  on  lands  of  other  people.  Fences  then  disap- 
peared. For  economic  reasons  the  change  was  unavoidable,  but  the 
absence  of  fences  detracted  much  from  the  beauty  of  farms.  Before 
this  the  fences  had  contributed  greatly  to  the  appearance  of  agricul- 
tural districts,  especially  where  such  fences  were  of  planks.  This  was 
often  the  case,  particularly  along  roadsides.  A  farm  so  fenced  was  a 
great  beauty  in  the  landscape,  and  its  roads  were  most  attractive  to  the 
traveller. 

When  carriages  became  less  numerous  and  stock-driving  through 
the  country  had  ceased,  less  attention  was  paid  to  roads  and  even  the 
turnpike  companies  allowed  their  privileges  to  lapse.  In  1848-1849 
the  State  of  North  Carolina  directed  the  building  of  the  Western 
Turnpike  from  Salisbury  westward  to  the  Georgia  line.  In  1854-1855 
Asheville  was  ordered  to  be  the  eastern  terminus  of  this  road.  Then 
the  road  was  constructed,  but  was  never  a  good  one.  When  railroads 
arrived  all  care  of  other  roads  was,  for  a  time,  abandoned.  Mean- 
while the  streets  of  Asheville,  from  increased  use  by  a  growing  popu- 
lation, were  in  such  condition  that,  in  seasons  of  winter  or  prolonged 
rains,  they  were  often  impassable.  Paving  with  crushed  rock,  obtained 
from  the  place  where  the  "New  Reservoir"  is  now,  was  put  upon  some 
of  the  streets  near  the  city's  centre  and  toward  the  depot,  beginning 
about  1884.  Then  other  streets  were  paved  with  stone  blocks.  At 
last,  in  1890,  a  system  of  paving  was  adopted.  The  first  of  this  was 
on  that  part  of  South  Main  Street  from  the  Public  Square  southward 
toward  Southside  Avenue.  The  material  used  for  this  work  was 
paving-bricks  and  the  contractor  for  the  work  was  General  P.  M.  B. 


I     ville 


170  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

Young,  the  distinguished  Confederate  cavalry  officer.  In  1896  Mr. 
Caney  Brown  was  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Bun- 
combe County  and  revived  the  matter  of  road  improvement.  He  and 
his  successor,  Mr.  J.  E.  Rankin,  did  a  small  amount  of  paving  with 
crushed  rock  on  the  road  between  Asheville  and  Biltmore;  but  in  1900, 
when  Mr.  M.  L.  Reed  was  chairman  of  that  board,  the  county  com- 
menced systematically  to  pave  its  roads  and  put  iron  and  concrete 
bridges  over  the  streams  where  the  roads  crossed  them. 

The  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  was  the  first  to  reach  Ashe- 
ville. This  was  in  1881.  Its  first  depot  in  the  place  was  a  frame 
uilding  erected  for  the  purpose  where  West  Haywood  Street  crosses 
that  railroad  in  the  vicinity  of  the  old  Smith's  Bridge  place.  After  a 
year  or  so  the  present  freight  depot  on  Depot  Street  was  built  and  its 
northern  end  used  for  a  while  as  a  passenger  station-house  while  the 
remainder  of  the  building  was  used  for  freight.  Then  the  present 
passenger  depot  was  constructed.  The  Asheville  and  Spartanburg 
Railroad  was  completed  to  what  is  now  Biltmore,  but  then  was  Best, 
in  1886.  Through  the  enterprise  of  the  late  Captain  C.  M.  McLoud. 
the  city  had  a  telegraph  line  connecting  it  with  Henry  Station  on  the 
Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  (now  abandoned  as  a  station)  about 
three  miles  west  of  Old  Fort,  a  year  before  the  railroad  came.  In  1887 
the  first  street  cars  were  put  upon  the  streets  of  Asheville.  It  was  an 
electric  trolley  system  from  the  beginning  and  ran  at  first  only  from  the 
Public  Square  to  the  present  passenger  station.  Its  builder,  a  Mr. 
Davidson,  gave  a  dinner  at  this  station  when  the  car  made  its  first  full 
trip  down.  That  trip  was  by  way  of  Southside  Avenue.  About  one 
^ear  later  the  streets  oegan  to  be  lighted  with  electricity,  chiefly  through 
a  tall  tower  or  mast  which  stood  on  the  Public  Square,  there  having 
theretofore  been  for  a  short  time  a  few  gas  lamps  near  that  square, 
telephones  were  introduced  in  1886.  Until  about  1876  Asheville's 
sidewalks  were  exceedingly  few  and  short  and  were  constructed  entirely 
of  round  stones  which  were  then  found  in  great  plenty  on  or  near  the 
surface  of  the  ground  on  Battery  Park  hill.  Then  some  walks  were 
built  of  thick  planks  running  longitudinally  along  the  street,  two 
planks  about  six  inches  apart  constituting  the  sidewalk.  These  gave 
way  to  sidewalks  of  flagstones  and  these  to  bricks  and  these  to  concrete. 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  171 

The  road  which  left  the  present  Patton  Avenue  at  or  about  what 
is  now  the  head  of  Asheland  Avenue  ran  southwestwardly  entering  the 
modern  Aston  Park  at  its  northeastern  corner  and  circling  with  the 
top  of  the  ridge  until  it  came  to  the  present  French  Broad  Avenue  at 
about  the  southeastern  corner  of  Aston  Park.  That  portion  of  this 
road  which  lay  about  fifty  feet  to  the  south  of  what  is  now  the  Meri- 
wether Hospital  w^as  used  in  1865  and  1866  for  a  tournament  ground 
by  the  young  Confederate  soldiers  who  had  just  returned  from  the  army. 
The  first  of  these  tournaments  were  ridden  only  with  the  sabre.  The 
rider  attempted  to  catch  on  his  sabre  a  metal  ring  of  about  two  inches 
in  diameter  suspended  loosely  from  the  arm  of  an  upright  post,  which 
arm  projected  over  the  course  at  about  half  way,  while  the  ring  hung 
just  a  little  above  the  rider's  head.  At  one-fourth  the  length  of  the 
course,  one  on  the  right  hand  and  the  other  on  the  left,  stood  by  the  side 
of  the  course  two  posts  about  as  high  as  a  horse.  These  posts  were 
surmounted  by  large  wooden  balls  supported  on  the  posts  by  small 
pieces  of  wood  six  inches  long  and  just  large  enough  to  hold  the  balls. 
The  rider  ran  his  horse  at  a  rapid  gallop  along  the  course  and  sought 
as  he  passed  to  cut  these  small  necks  with  his  sabre  so  that  the  balls 
would  fall  to  the  ground  and  in  the  middle  of  the  course  catch  the  ring 
on  the  same  w^eapon.  Later  the  sabre  and  balls  were  abandoned  and 
the  rider  attempted  to  catch  one  or  more  suspended  rings  with  a  long 
lance  which  he  carried.  At  this  place  and  at  about  the  same  time  was 
held  a  barbarous  "gander-pulling"  in  which  instead  of  the  ring  was 
suspended  a  live  gander  with  greased  neck,  while  every  rider  attempted 
to  pull  off  the  bird's  head.  This  brutal  performance  was  never  re- 
peated. It  is  said  to  have  been  practised  elsewhere  in  early  days.  (See 
Judge  Longstreet's  Georgia  Scenes.)  On  this  old  field  was  Asheville's 
earliest  baseball  ground.  Here  occurred  in  1866  the  first  game  of  that 
kind  ever  played  in  Buncombe  County.  Soon  it  supplanted  the  old 
"town-ball,"  of  which  it  is  a  modification,  and  later  it  passed  largely 
into  the  hands  of  professional  players. 

On  this  ground,  too,  which  was  uninclosed,  were  for  many  years 
conducted  picnics  and  other  popular  sports  and  were  held  political 
speakings  and  other  outdoor  public  gatherings.  All  these  were  by  per- 
mission of  the  owners  of  the  land  or  without  objection  from  them. 


172  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

In  Asheville's  early  days  the  merchants  of  Buncombe  Count) 
hauled  their  goods  in  four-horse  or  six-horse  wagons  from  Charleston. 
South  Carolina,  and  Augusta,  Georgia,  making  annual  trips  and 
spending  a  month  or  more  in  the  journey.  The  front  pair  of  horses  or 
mules  always  was  adorned  with  jingling  bells  above  their  heads.  Later 
when  railroads  came  into  general  use  these  merchants  made  their  pur- 
chases in  Baltimore  or  New  York,  going  in  person  to  those  markets 
usually  every  spring  and  every  fall  for  the  purpose.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  on  the  South  Asheville  was  sixty  miles  from  the  nearest  point 
of  every  of  three  railroads,  Morganton  in  North  Carolina,  and 
Greenville  in  South  Carolina  and  Greeneville  in  Tennessee,  and  goods 
were  usually  hauled  in  wagons  from  the  last  of  these.  Then  the  rail- 
road from  Morristown  to  Wolf  Creek  in  Tennessee  was  completed  as 
far  as  Wolf  Creek  and  the  goods  were  so  brought  from  that  place. 
Then  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  reached  Marion,  North 
Carolina,  and  then  Old  Fort  and  then  Henry  Station  and  from  these 
places,  respectively,  while  one  was  the  nearest  railroad  station,  Ashe- 
ville's merchants  brought  their  goods  by  wagon. 

At  first  the  money  used  in  Buncombe  County  was  of  the  English 
denominations  of  pounds,  shillings  and  pence  and  it  was  for  pounds 
and  shillings  that  the  first  lots  in  Asheville  were  sold.  Later  occasion- 
ally Mexican  dollars,  or  as  they  were  usually  called  "Spanish  milled 
dollars,"  were  in  common  use.  Then  came  the  United  States  currency. 
As  late  as  1872  there  were  in  circulation  in  Asheville  a  good  many 
silver  six-pence  (six  and  one-fourth  cents)  and  shilling  (twelve  and 
one-half  cents)  pieces.  From  1830  to  1835  two  men  named  Bechtler 
of  Rutherfordton,  North  Carolina,  obtained  an  act  of  Congress  which 
permitted  them  to  coin,  in  private  coinage,  gold  gathered  in  the  pied- 
mont portion  of  Western  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina  and  in 
Northern  Georgia.  They  produced  a  good  many  coins  of  the  denomi- 
nations of  one  dollar,  two  and  one-half  dollars,  and  five  dollars,  the  one 
dollars  being  far  the  most  numerous.  These  coins  contained  a  little 
more  gold  than  their  denominations  called  for,  and  were  produced  for 
many  years,  constituting  with  Mexican  silver  dollars  the  principal 
money  of  that  region.  Often  they  were  counterfeited  in  brass;  but,  as 
the  brass  was  less  easily  bent  than  the  gold,  a  practice  grew  up  of  test- 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


173 


ing  the  genuineness  of  a  Bechtler  coin  by  placing  it  in  the  crack  of  a 
door  and  bending  it  in  order  to  see  how  easily  it  was  to  bend.  For  this 
reason  most  of  such  coins  which  exist  have  creases  across  them.  They 
are  now  very  scarce,  however,  and  command  large  premiums  from  col- 
lectors.   Durins:  the  war  on  the  South  both  the  Treasurer  of  Buncombe 


Bechtler  Coins 

County  in  behalf  of  the  State  and  Asheville  for  itself  issued  paper 
money;  the  county  in  denominations  of  five,  ten,  fifteen,  twenty,  twenty- 
iive  and  fifty  cents  and  one  dollar;  and  the  town  in  the  same  denomi- 
nations less  than  one  dollar.  But  probably  the  greater  part  of  the 
mercantile  transactions  up  to  about  1875  was  by  exchanging  country 
produce  for  goods,  or  as  these  transactions  were  differently  called, 
"barter,"  or  the  customer  selling  his  produce  and  "taking  it  out  in 
trade."  Sometimes  the  merchant  had  two  prices  which  he  would  pay 
for  produce,  giving  more  when  the  seller  agreed  to  "take  it  out  in  trade." 
Asheville  never  had  a  complete  market  house  until  the  present 
building  called  the  City  Hall  was  erected  in  1892;  but  ever  mercantile 
establishment,  except  a  drug  store,  was  a  general  store  which  sold  all 


174 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


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Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


175 


kinds  of  goods  and  bought  all  kinds  of  country  produce,  although  for 
a  short  time  before  that  market-house  was  built  there  was  in  the  city  a 
sort  of  market-house. 

Asheville's  first  burying-ground  was  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Eagle  Street  and  Market  Street,  but  later  on  this  was  changed  to  a 
burying-ground  en  the  east  side  of  the  present  Church  Street  between 
the  Presbyterian  Church  and  Aston  Street.    Then  in  1865  a  Methodist 

burying-ground  was  established 
on  the  western  side  of  Church 
Street  immediately  south  of  the 
Central  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  church  building. 
There  were  also  some  burials  in 
the  churchyard  of  Trinity  Epis- 
copal Church  immediately  south 
of  that  church  building  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Church  Street,  and 
some  on  the  same  side  of  that 
street  immediately  north  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  All  these 
graves  on  Church  Street,  with  the 
exception  of  that  of  James  Patton, 
g.  ^^     wTre  removed  to  Riverside  Ceme- 

Pl  W     tery  when  it  was  established   in 

1885  by  the  Asheville  Cemetery 
Company  incorporated  on  August 
4th  of  that  year.  In  this  way  it 
came  about  that  many  graves  in 
Riverside  Cemetery  contain  bodies 
which  were  removed  to  it  from 
other  burying-grounds  and  some 
of  which  have  been  removed  twice.  Among  the  latter  is  the  grave 
marked  by  the  oldest  tombstone  in  that  cemetery.  It  is  that  of 
John  Lyon,  the  distinguished  English  botanist,  '^a  gentleman  through 
whose  industry  and  skill  more  new  and  rare  American  plants  have 
lately  been  introduced  into  Europe  than  through  all  other  channels 


Grave  of  John  Lyonl 
Riverside   Cemetery,   Ashevi 


He 


]  76  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

whatever."  John  Lyon  died  of  consumption  in  the  old  Swain  Buildini^ 
on  the  eastern  side  of  South  Main  Street,  in  September,  1814,  at  the 
age  of  49,  a  lonely  stranger  in  a  strange  land  among  strangers 
thousands  of  miles  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  any  relative,  but 
cared  for  by  strangers  with  great  tenderness.  His  body  was  buried  in 
the  old  burying-ground  east  of  Market  Street  and  removed  thence  to 
the  old  Presbyterian  graveyard  east  of  Church  Street  and  finally  to  its 
resting  place  in  Riverside  Cemetery  near  the  southeastern  corner.  No 
doubt  the  oldest  burying-ground  in  the  county  is  the  Shawano  Indian 
burying-ground  on  the  eastern  banks  of  French  Broad  River  about  one 
mile  above  the  mouth  of  Swannanoa  River.  Probably  the  oldest 
burying-ground  of  white  people  in  the  county  is  the  old  Robert  Patton 
bur}'ing-ground  near  the  town  of  Swannanoa.  The  Newton  Academy 
graveyard  is  now  the  oldest  graveyard  in  Asheville;  but  the  oldest 
graves  in  Asheville  were  the  "Indian  Graves"  on  Patton  Avenue, 
immediately  west  of  the  crossing  of  Lexington  Avenue,  which  were  used 
as  a  landmark  to  indicate  the  place  selected  for  Buncombe's  county 
town.  This  and  the  other  circumstances  attendant  upon  the  making  of 
that  location  seem  to  disprove  the  old  story  told  about  that  location,  as 
about  the  location  of  other  towns,  that  the  commissioners  determined 
to  put  the  town  at  the  bar-room  at  which  they  had  met  for  the  purpose 
of  drinking  and  had  been  drinking.  There  was  no  bar-room  w^here 
they  determined  should  be  the  site  of  the  county  town  of  Buncombe. 
Had  there  been,  it  would  have  been  called  for  in  making  the  location. 
The  more  detailed  story  that  the  bar-room  was  at  a  cross-roads  w^here 
the  proporietor  professod  to  be  deaf  and  would  ask  every  traveller  who 
stopped  to  inquire  his  way  whether  he  said  that  he  wanted  a  whiskey 
or  brandy,  is  equally  set  at  rest  in  the  same  way. 


Chapter  XIV 

THE  first  preachers  having  charge  of  churches  in  Asheville 
were:  l^or  the  Presb>1:erians,  George  Xewton  mentioned  above; 
for  the  Methodists,  the  first  circuit  rider  of  "Swanino  Circuit" 
was  Samuel  Edney  in  1792-1793,  while  Samuel  Lowe  was  its  presiding 
elder;  and  the  first  station  preacher  at  Asheville  was  J.  S.  Burnett 
(in  1848);  for  the  Episcopalians,  the  first  preacher  w^as  Jarvis 
Buxton;  for  the  Baptists,  the  first  regular  preacher  was  Thomas 
Stradley,  an  Englishman  who  came  to  America  and  lived  on  Beaver- 
dam  in  Buncombe  County.  The  first  Episcopalian  in  Buncombe 
County  was  JNIrs.  William  Coleman  (born  Miss  Evelina  Baird).  Dr. 
Jarvis  Buxton  was  born  February  27,  1820,  near  Washington,  North 
Carolina;  came  to  Asheville  in  1846,  where  he  established  the  first 
Episcopal  Church;    and  died  March  11,  1902. 

The  first  physician  in  Asheville  seems  to  have  been  R.  B.  Vance, 
who  became  a  member  of  Congress  from  the  district  and  was  killed  in 
a  duel  by  S.  P.  Carson;  and  the  first  drug  store  was  built  and  opened 
in  1850  and  thence  conducted  by  P.  C.  Lester,  a  physician,  on  the 
western  side  of  South  Main  Street,  in  a  frame  building  where  is  now 
Hilliard  Hall,  and  in  the  second  story  of  which  was  Asheville's  first 
photograph  gallery  kept  by  an  itinerant  photographer  about  1866. 

Apparently  the  first  hotel  in  the  place  was  that  of  Colonel  James 
M.  Alexander  on  South  Main  Street  in  what  became  the  Hilliard 
Residence  that  occupied  a  site  now  within  the  street.  Opposite  that 
house  and  just  south  of  the  "Henrietta"  was  a  hitching  lot  where 
horseback  riders  from  the  country  visiting  the  town  hitched  their 
horses ;  but  later  the  hitching  lot  was  on  the  western  side  of  Haywood 
Street  opposite  the  present  Citizen  Building;  and  later  still  every 
merchant  had  his  own  hitching  lot.  The  next  hotel  was  the  Eagle 
Hotel  on  the  eastern  side  of  South  Main  Street  between  the  present 
streets  called  Eagle  and  Sycamore.  It  was  kept  by  James  Patton. 
Then,  at  an  early  day,  came  the  Buck  Hotel  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Langren  and  kept  by  James  :M.  Smith.  Next  came  the  brick  house  at 
the  southwestern  corner  of  North  :Main  and  Cherry  streets  kept  by 


178 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


Top— Bank  Hotel  looking  north,   site  of  T.   C.   Smith  Drug  Store 
Bottom— North  Public  Square,  Buck  Hotel,  left  background— 1888 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  179 

Israel  Baird  and  later  the  Brand  residence.  The  Carolina  House, 
built  by  John  Reynolds  on  the  western  side  of  North  Main  Street  a 
little  the  south  of  Woodfin  Street,  was  next.  The  Battery  Park  Hotel 
was  built  by  Frank  Coxe  and  opened  in  the  summer  of  1886  to  visitors. 
It  occupied  the  site  of  the  old  Battery  Porter,  so  called  from  a  Con- 
federate battery  stationed  there;  and  when  the  hotel  was  built  the  name 
was  change  to  "Battery  Park."  For  many  years,  extending  back  to  the 
time  of  its  origin,  Asheville  had  been  visited  by  many  strangers  in  the 
summer  months  of  every  year;  but  about  the  time  this  hotel  was  first 
opened,  the  town  began  to  be  an  all-the-year  resort  for  the  pleasure- 
seekers  and  tourists.  In  the  year  1912  on  July  4th,  the  Langren  Hotel, 
occupying  the  site  of  the  old  Buck  Hotel,  began  business,  chiefly 
patronized  by  commercial  travel.  Then  in  the  summer  of  1913  Grove 
Park  Inn  first  threw  open  its  door  for  public  entertainment. 

Before  the  war  on  the  South  the  advantages  offered  by  Asheville 
climate  for  the  treatment  of  persons  afflicted  with  consumption  had 
been  well  known.  In  1871  two  physicians  of  the  name  of  Gatchell 
established  a  sanatarium  at  Forest  Hill  then  just  without  Asheville's 
corporate  limits.  After  some  while  this  enterprise  was  abandoned  but 
later  revived  by  one  of  them  at  the  northeastern  corner  of  Haywood  and 
College  Streets.  In  1876  a  physician  named  Gleitzman  began  to  con- 
duct in  the  old  Carolina  House  on  North  ^lain  Street  a  sanatorium  for 
tubercular  patients  and  continued  it  for  some  years. 

During  the  war  there  had  been  a  Confederate  hospital  w^here  the 
Central  Bank  is  now\  After  that  Asheville  had  no  hospital  until  1892 
when  the  Mission  Hospital  w^as  built  on  Charlotte  and  Woodfin  streets, 
after  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  had  declared  void  an  ordinance 
of  the  city  under  which  the  city  authorities  attempted  to  prevent  its 
erection.     (See  State  vs.  J.  A.  Tenant,  110  N.  C.  609.) 

Before  1884  Asheville  had  no  waterworks.  The  need  of  its 
inhabitants  for  water  was  met  by  wells  and  springs.  A  public  well 
stood  about  thirty  feet  north  of  the  present  Central  Bank  and  another 
one  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  Public  Square  about  seventy-five  feet 
north  from  the  former.  Many  homes  had  private  wells  and  a  few  had 
springs.  Many  of  the  physical  features  of  Asheville  had  changed  since 
it  became  a  town.  Some  of  these  physical  features  of  the  place  are  no 
longer  recognizable,  even  to  people  yet  living  who  had  known  it  years 


180 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


Asheville,  1SS3— Eastern  side  of  French  Broad  River  near  (earlier)  site  of  Sniitli's  Bridge 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  181 

ago.  The  streams  have  ceased  to  rise  and  flow  where  they  once  rose 
and  flowed.  On  the  west  side  of  Water  Street  immediately  south  of 
Walnut  Street  once  stood  a  famous  spring  called  for  in  the  old  deeds, 
hut  now  not  to  be  found.  Below  it,  on  both  sides  of  the  street,  springs 
have  disappeared  in  the  last  half  of  a  century.  Even  subsequent  to 
the  late  war,  horses  have  been  seen  to  mire  up  to  the  body  in  the  blue 
mud  of  Water  Street  (Lexington  Avenue)  just  south  of  Woodfin  Street. 
Almost  the  same  state  of  affairs  has  existed,  and  the  same  changes 
taken  place  in  Central  Avenue  since  1865,  when  it  was  a  narrow  lane 
ending  at  a  private  residence  now  opposite  the  entrance  of  Orange 
Street.  I  was  informed  by  the  late  Mr.  R.  B.  Justice,  that  at  the  time 
of  his  first  visit  to  Asheville  in  1846,  a  spring  of  good  water,  much 
used,  existed  on  the  spot  where  now  stands  the  postoffice  or  Federal 
Building.  Until  within  the  last  two  years  there  stood  on  the  northern 
border  of  South  Beaumont  Street  about  fifty  yards  west  from  its 
junction  with  College  Street  a  large  old  chestnut  tree  in  whicli-the  late 
Colonel  E.  H.  Cunningham  used  to  relate  that  he  had  seen-killed  at 
one  time  three  black  bears,  an  old  one  and  her  two  young. 

At  a  time  not  long  antecedent  to  the  war,  some  gentlemen  had  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  having  a  waterworks  for  the  town  and,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  late  Hosea  Lindsey,  had  excavated,  at  the  present 
site  of  the  "Old  Reservoir,"  a  place  in  the  mountains  near  where 
College  Street  begins  to  ascend  and  had  dug  a  trench  for  pipes  from  it 
some  distance  in  thedjrection  of  the  tow^n's  centre;  but  the  project  had 
been  abandoned. /Sbout  1884  the  City,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  late 
Captain  Thomas  W.  Patton,  completed  that  reservoir  and  pipe  line 
bringing  into  them  the  water  collected  from  the  branches  running  west 
out  of  the  mountain  for  a  distance  of  about  a  mile  to  the  north.  Then 
in  1886  the  City  constructed  a  pumping  station  on  Swannanoa  River  at 
the  place  where  the  road  to  Oteen  leaves  the  river,  now  called  the  "Old 
Waterworks,"  but  formerly  the  site  of  the  late  Montraville  Patton's 
grist  mill.  This  water  supply  was  pumped  across  Beaucatcher  Gap 
into  the  "Old  Reservoir"  and  later  also  into  the  metal  standpipe  on 
College  Street  and  the  old  supply  of  water  from  the  branches  was  aban- 
doned. Then,  in  1902-1903,  the  city  built  a  gravity  line  by  which 
water  from  "the  intake"  on  the  North  Fork  of  Swannanoa  River  was 


182 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  183 

carried  in,  pipes  from  its  superior  altitude,  across  Beaucatcher  Gap, 
into  the  "Old  Reservoir"  and  this  standpipe.  The  filter  station  on  the 
southern  side  of  College  Street  was  built  in  1890.  In  1907  the  City 
constructed  the  "New  Reservoir"  near  the  standpipe  on  the  eastern  side 
of  College  Street  a  little  to  the  north  of  Beaucatcher  Gap.  Then  in 
1920  was  added  to  the  existing  source  of  water  supply  another  "gravity 
line"  by  which  water  from  Bee  Tree  Creek  is  carried  over  Beaucatcher 
Gap  into  the  same  reservoirs. 

As  long  as  Ashe\dlle  had' no  water^vorks  it  had,  of  course,  no  fire 
department  or  sewer  lines.  When  a  fire  occurred  crowds  assembled 
and  organized  an  extemporary  "bucket  brigade."  A  Hook  and  Ladder 
Company  was  organized  as  early  as  1882  to  assist  at  fires.  But  when 
waterworks  had  been  established,  voluntary  "hook  and  ladder"  and 
"hose-reel"  companies  were  formed,  the  first  in  1884;  and,  since  the 
reservoirs  were  higher  than  the  part  of  the  City  then  built  up,  no  fire- 
engine  was  needed  or  has  been  used.    Sewers  came  in  1888. 

Asheville's  altitude  above  sea-level  is  2,200  feet  according  to 
some  or  2,250  feet  according  to  Guyot,  at  the  Public  Square.  Most 
of  the  City  is  built  on  hills  elevated  far  above  the  French  Broad  and 
Swannanoa  rivers,  while  parts  of  the  City  are  much  lower  than  these. 
For  many  years  there  had  occurred,  at  very  rare  intervals,  floods  of 
considerable  size  in  these  streams;  but  no  one  apprehended  danger  to 
any  part  of  the  place  from  such  a  source.  It  is  said  that  there  had  been 
a  heavy  freshet  in  April,  1791  and  another  in  May,  1845.  On  August 
28-30,  1852,  a  freshet  had  done  considerable  damage  in  the  valleys 
of  these  rivers  and  washed  away  on  the  French  Broad  the  bridge  at 
Captain  Wiley  Jones's  near  the  mouth  of  Hominy  Creek,  Smith's 
Bridge  at  Asheville,  Garmon's  Bridge  at  what  is  now.  Craggy,  Alex- 
ander's Bridge  at  French  Broad  (now  Alexander)  and  Chunn's  Bridge 
and  the  Warm  Springs  Bridge  in  Madison  County,  and  on  the  Swan- 
nanoa  Patton's  Bridge  about  half  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  that  stream. 
It  has  been  said  that  in  about  1810  or  1811  there  had  been  a  famous 
freshet  in  the  Swannanoa  River,  but  the  injury  from  it  was  not  great; 
but  this  is  probably  an  exaggerated  statement.  Then  in  June,  1876, 
a  freshet  in  both  rivers  had  done  much  damage,  especially  in  the  valley 
of  the  French  Broad.     But  on  July  16,  1916,  occurred  a  flood  in  both 


184 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


rivers  which  exceeded  any  of  these  and  caused  ravages  parts  of 

are  yet  to  be  seen.    The  streets  of  Biltmore  and  the  lower  parts  of 

ville  were  flooded  to  considerable  depths 

until  in  both  places  men  were  drowned  in 

them,    while    much    property    and    many 

bridges    disappeared    or    were    ruined    or 

greatly  injured. 

Patton  Avenue  is  Asheville's  principal 
business  street.  The  part  of  it  from  the 
Public  Square  to  the  Federal  Building, 
Avith  much  narrower  width,  was  part  of  the 
old  Haywood  Road.  Beyond  that  part  to 
the  west  until  it  comes  to  Haywood  Street 
about  three-quarters  of  a  mile|  from  the 
Public  Square  had  been  opened,  under  the 
name  of  Patton  Street,  as  a  rough  country 
road  through  the  woods  before  the  war,  but 
the  large  fills  where  three  hollows  were 
crossed  had  washed  out  in  great  part,  and 

it  was  rare  that  wagons  attempted  to  pass 

over  it  by  driving  around  the   fills.      In 

1876   this  part   of  the  street  was   rebuilt 

and    widened    under    the    supervision    of 

E.  Clayton. 

Ephraim   Clayton   was  born   in  that 

part  of  Buncombe  County  which  is  now 

Transylvania  County,  on  Da\4dson  River, 

in  1805.     In  early  life  he  became  a  con- 
tractor  for  building  houses   and   in  that 

business   built   probably   more   houses   in 

North     Carolina,     South     Carolina     and 

Georgia  than  any  other  two  men.     Among 

the  buildings  erected  by  him  were  Wofford 

College  at  Spartanburg,   South  Carolina, 

and    the    Buncombe    Courthouse    which 

was    burned    in    1865     and    the    present 


which 
Ashe- 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  185 

Newton  Academy  and  (in  1840)  the  house  in  Asheville  which 
gave  place  to  the  Drhumor  Building  and  the  houses  of  the  Everett 
(formerly  Ward  and  then  Lowndes)  Place  on  French  Broad  River  in 
Transylvania  County.  His  home  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life  was  in 
Asheville  on  what  is  now  the  eastern  side  of  Spruce  Street  opposite 
the  eastern  end  of  Walnut  Street.  He  brought  to  Asheville  the  first 
planing  machine  ever  in  Western  North  Carolina.  During  the  war  on 
the  South  he  headed  a  company  which  manufactured  in  that  town  guns 
of  the  Enfield  rifle  type  for  the  use  of  Confederate  soldiers  with  which 
to  protect  their  country  from  an  invading  foe.  One  of  those  guns  is 
now  owned  by  the  writer.  These  guns  were  made  at  Colonel  Clayton's 
shop  adjoining  his  home  on  the  north,  w^here  is  now  the  residence  of 
Doctor  R.  H.  Reeves,  and  the  company  which  made  them  was  com- 
posed of  Ephraim  Clayton,  R.  W.  Pulliam  and  G.  W.  Whitson.  The 
guns,  however,  could  not  be  made  satisfactory  at  first  for  want  of 
proper  machinery,  but  later  were  by  improved  machinery  superior 
rifles,  the  best  in  the  Confederate  army.  Iron  for  their  manufacture 
was  obtained  at  Cranberry.  After  the  war  Colonel  Clayton  went  into 
railroad  contracting.  A  large  contract  on  the  Spartanburg  and  Ashe- 
ville Railroad  was  worked  out  by  him;  and,  when,  by  the  failure  of 
the  railroad  company,  he  lost  all  that  was  due  to  him  for  this  work  his 
property  was  greatly  reduced.  He  died  at  his  home  near  Asheville  on 
the  western  side  of  French  Broad  River  on  August  9,  1892,  the  day 
before  that  on  which  Buncombe  County's  centennial  w^as  celebrated  at 
the  northeastern  corner  of  Flint  and  Magnolia  streets  and  with  various 
displays  and  ceremonies  throughout  the  City. 


186 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


Chapter  XV 

FOR  a  long  time  the  name  of  Asheville's  streets  were  such  as  the 
public  saw  fit  to  bestow  on  them,  every  man  applying  to  a  street 
such  name  as  he  liked.  This  continued  until  December  4,  1876, 
when  the  town  authorities  appointed  a  committee,  consisting  of  two 
aldermen  P.  Rollins  and  F.  M.  Miller  and  Colonel  R.  W.  Pulliam, 
Captain  Thomas  W.  Patton  and  Captain  William  M.  Cocke,  Jr.,  all 
now  deceased,  to  give  official  names  to  all  the  streets.  Some  of  the 
names  then  given  yet  remain,  but  many  of  them  have  disappeared.  It 
w^ould  not  be  too  much  to  say  that  the  official  work  has  not  always 
improved  upon  the  haphazard  of  earlier  nomenclature  in  sound  or 
propriety.  Anyhow,  Academy  Street  has  been  changed  to  Montford 
Avenue,  Mulberry  Street  to  Cumberland  Avenue,  Starnes  Street  to 
Hiawassee  Street,  North  Main  Street  to  Broadway,  Beaverdam  Street 
to  Merrimon  Avenue,  Libbey  Street  to  Liberty  Street,  Bridge  Street  to 
Central  Avenue,  White  Oak  Street  to  Oak  Street,  Pine  Street  to 
Furman  Avenue,  South  Main  Street  to  Biltmore  Avenue,  Bailey  Street 
to  Asheland  Avenue,  Maria  Avenue  to  French  Broad  Avenue,  Roberts 
Street  to  Bartlett  Street,  and  Buxton  Street  to  Park  Avenue  and  the 
"PubHc  Square"  to  "Pack  Square." 

The  Public_Library  of  Asheyille  was  startedin  1879  asa  privateV 
benevolence/^Asheville  and  Western  JNorth  Carolina  have  not  been  en- 
tirely \\'ithout  a  historical  literature.  The  principal  of  the  books  on  the 
subject  are:  (1)  Francis  Asbury's  Journal,  quoted  above;  (2)  Charles 
Lanman's  Letters  from  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  1849,  republished  in 
his  Adventures  in  the  Wilds  of  the  United  States  and  British  American 
Provinces,  1856,  vol.  1;  (3)  D.  K.  Bennett's  Chronology  of  North 
Carolina,  of  which  the  parts  on  Western  North  Carolina  were  by  the 
publisher,  James  M.  Edney,  1858;  (4)  Henry  E.  Colton's  Mountain 
Scenery,  1859;  (5)  The  Land  of  the  Sky  by  Christian  Reid  (Miss 
Frances  Fisher  afterwards  Mrs.  Tiernan),  1875;  (6)  T.  L.  Cling- 
man's  Speeches  and  Writings,  1877;  (7)  W.  G.  Zeigler  and  B.  S. 
Grosscup's  Heart  of  the  Alleghanies,  1883;  (8)  Standard  Guide  to 
Asheville  and  Western  North  Carolina,  illustrated  by  Roger  Davis, 


II 


188 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 


Asheville— Eastern  side  of  South  Main  Street— Upper  floor  marked  "Reading,"  first  room 
occupied  by  Asheville  Public  Library— About  1878 — Site  of  Old  George  Swain  House 
where  John  Lyon  died,  in  portion  just  south  of  cut 


published  by  P>ed  L.  Jacobs,  Asheville,  N.  C,  1887;  and  (9)  John 
Preston  Arthur's  Western  North  Carolina,  1914,  published  by  the 
Edward  Buncombe  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion of  Asheville,  N.  C. 

As  bearing  more  particularly,  although  not  exclusively,  on  the 
Cherokees  may  be  mentioned  a  two-volume  novel  now  extremely  scarce, 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  189 

entitled  "Eoneguski  or  the  Cherokee  Chief:  A  Tale  of  Past  Wars.  By 
an  American"  (Judge  Robert  Strange  of  North  Carolina),  1839;  and 
Myths  of  the  Cherokee,  by  James  Mooney,  published  in  1902  as  a  part 
of  the  United  States  government  publication  "Nineteenth  Annual 
Report  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology." 

On  the  botany  of  Western  North  Carolina  a  very  clear  and  trust- 
worthy guide  to  the  trees  and  shrubs  will  be  found  in  Dr.  M.  A.  Curtis's 
Trees  and  Shrubs  of  North  Carolina,  originally  published  as  Part  III 
of  "Emmons's  Geological  and  Natural  History  Survey  of  North  Caro- 
lina," 1860  reprinted  as  part  of  P.  M.  Hale's  "Woods  and  Timbers  of 
North  Carolina,"  1883 ;  and  on  the  gems  of  Western  North  Carolina  a 
valuable  treatise  will  be  found  in  George  Frederick  Kunz's  "History 
of  the  Gems  Found  in  North  Carolina,"  published  as  "Bulletin  No. 
12,"  being  a  part  of  J.  Hyde  Pratt's  "North  Carolina  Geological  and 
Economical  Survey,  1907." 

The  book  by  Christian  Reid  mentioned  above  applied  a  new  and 
popular  name  to  the  Asheville  region,  which  at  once  became  to  the 
public  and  has  since  been  frequently  called 

The  Land  of  the  Sky. 

Finis. 


GENESIS  OF  THE 
COUNTY  OF  BUNCOMBE 


Genesis  of  the  County  of  Buncombe 

By  Hon.  Theo.  F.  Davidson 


Ar  the  close  of  1791,  Burke  and  Rutherford  were  the  frontiei 
counties  of  North  Carolina,  their  western  boundaries  extend- 
^    ing  with  the  Cherokee  Indian  treaty  lines  from  the  State  of 
South  Carolina  to  Tennessee. 

Within  a  short  time  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
hostilities  with  the  Cherokee  Indians,  who  had  been  the  allies  of  the 
British,  ceased,  and  the  beautiful  and  fertile  lands  of  the  French  Broad 
valley  began  to  attract  a  rapid  influx  of  emigrants  from  the  Piedmont 
Section  of  North  Carolina  and  the  "Watauga  settlements"  of  Tennessee, 
and  to  which  was  added  a  steady,  although  relatively  smaller  stream 
from  southwest  Virginia  and  the  upper  districts  of  South  Carolina. 
They  were  descended  from  that  remarkable  people  known  as  Scotch- 
Irish,  and  were  peculiarly  fitted  by  their  courage,  self-reliance,  love  of 
adventure  and  devotion  to  the  true  principles  of  liberty,  for  the 
dangerous  and  difficult  task  of  developing  a  new  country  and  estab- 
lishing sound  government. 

In  1791,  the  population  along  the  French  Broad,  extending  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  present  towns  of  Hendersonville  and  Brevard  to  the 
Warm  Springs,  but  confined  chiefly  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  river,  had 
become  sufficiently  numerous  and  important  to  require  a  new  county, 
and  at  the  session  of  the  General  x\ssembly  of  North  Carolina,  which 
assembled  in  November  of  that  year,  in  the  town  of  Newbern,  an  act 
was  passed  creating  the  County  of  Buncombe. 

The  Journal  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  Saturday,  December 
17,  1791,  recites: 

"Mr.  Vance  presented  the  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  part 
of  Burke  County  lying  west  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  praying 
that  a  part  of  that  and  a  part  of  Rutherford  County  be  made  into  a 
separate  and  distinct  county.  Mr.  Wm.  Davidson  presented  a  petition 
to  the  same  effect,  both  of  which  being  read,  Mr.  Vance  moved  for  leave 


194  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

and  presented  a  bill  to  answer  the  prayer  of  the  said  petitions,  which 
was  read  the  first  time,  passed  and  sent  to  the  Senate." 

The  Journal  of  the  Senate  shows  that  the  bill  was  received  and 
passed  by  that  body  on  the  same  day,  and  it  was  ratified  on  the  14th 
day  of  January,  1  /^2.  The  "Mr.  Vance,"  who  introduced  the  bill,  was 
Colonel  David  Vance,  and  was  one  of  the  representatives  in  the  General 
Assembly  from  the  County  of  Burke,  and  at  that  time  and  until  his 
death  in  1813,  he  resided  on  his  farm  at  the  head  of  Reems  Creek 
valley.  The  "Mr.  Wm.  Davidson,"  who  presented  one  of  the  petitions 
for  the  new  county,  was  Colonel  William  Davidson,  then  one  of  the 
representatives  in  the  General  Assembly  from  the  County  of  Burke. 
At  that  time  he  resided  on  the  south  side  of  the  Swannanoa  River,  at 
the  place,  a  short  distance  west  of  the  present  village  of  Biltmore,  now 
known  as  the  "Gum  Spring."  At  his  house  in  April  following  the 
county  was  organized. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  act : 

"Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same: 

"That  all  that  part  of  the  counties  of  Burke  and  Rutherford  cir- 
cumscribed by  the  following  lines  (viz.) :  Beginning  on  the  extreme 
height  of  the  Appalachian  mountains  where  the  southern  boundary  of 
this  State  crosses  the  same,  thence  along  the  extreme  height  of  said 
Mountains,  to  where  the  road  from  the  head  of  the  Catawba  River  to 
Swannanoa  crosses;  thence  along  the  main  ridge,  dividing  the  water.s 
of  South  Toe  from  those  of  Swannanoa  into  the  Great  Black  Mountain; 
thence  along  said  mountain  to  the  northeast  end;  thence  along  the  main 
ridge  between  South  Toe  and  Little  Crab  Tree,  to  the  mouth  of  said 
Catawba  Creek;  thence  down  Toe  River  aforesaid,  to  where  the  same 
empties  into  the  Nolechukle  River;  thence  down  the  said  river  to  the 
extreme  height  of  the  Iron  Mountain  and  Session  line;  thence  along 
said  Session  line  to  the  southern  boundary;  thence  along  the  said 
boundary  to  the  beginning  is  hereby  created  into  a  separate  and  distinct 
county,  known  by  the  name  of  Buncombe.  And  for  the  due  admin- 
istration of  justice  in  said  County  of  Buncombe. 

"Be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid.  That  the 
justices  nominated  and  commissioned  in  the  said  County  of  Buncombe 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  195 

shall  have  the  same  power  and  jurisdiction  as  the  justices  of  the  peace 
have  in  any  other  county  in  this  state ; 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  Philip 
court  for  the  said  County  of  Buncombe  aforesaid,  shall  be  constantly 
held  on  the  third  Mondays  of  January,  April,  July  and  October,  and 
their  first  court  shall  be  held  at  the  house  of  William  Davidson,  Esq., 
on  Swannanoa,  but  the  justices  of  said  court  may  adjourn  to  any  other 
place  more  convenient,  until  a  court  house  shall  be  built; 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid.  That  Philip 
Hoodenpyl,  William  Brittain  and  Lemuel  Clayton  are  hereby  appointed 
commissioners  to  fix  on  the  most  central  place  in  said  county  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  a  court  house,  prison  and  stocks; 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid.  That  Ben- 
jamin Hawkins,  William  Whitson  and  John  Patton  are  hereby  ap- 
pointed commissioners  for  the  purpose  of  contracting  with  workmen 
to  erect  the  necessary  public  buildings  in  said  county  as  soon  as  the 
commissioners  shall  fix  on  the  center; 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  debar  the  late  sheriffs 
of  Burke  and  Rutherford  counties  as  they  stood  undivided,  to  make 
distress  for  any  levies,  fees  and  other  dues  now  actually  due,  or  owing 
from  the  inhabitants  of  said  counties  of  Burke  and  Rutherford  as  they 
formerly  stood  undivided  in  the  same  manner  as  by  law  the  said 
sheriffs  or  collectors  could  or  might  have  done,  if  the  said  counties  had 
remained  undivided,  and  the  said  levies,  fees  and  other  dues  shall  be 
collected  and  accounted  for  in  the  same  manner  as  if  this  act  had  never 
been  made,  anything  herein  contained  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding; 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  the 
sheriffs  and  other  collectors  and  holders  of  public  money  in  the  said 
County  of  Buncombe,  shall,  from  time  to  time  account  for  and  pay 
into  the  public  treasury  of  this  state,  all  public  money  wherewith  they 
shall  stand  chargeable,  in  the  same  manner  and  under  the  same  pains 
and  penalties  as  by  law  any  other  sheriff  and  holder  of  public  money 
are  obliged  to  account  in  the  State; 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid.  That  a  tax 
of  one  shilling  on  each  poll  and  a  tax  of  four  pence  on  every  hundred 


196  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

acres  of  land,  shall  be  and  is  hereby  assessed  on  the  taxable  property 
in  the  said  County  of  Buncombe  for  two  years,  to  commence  from  the 
passing  of  this  act,  and  that  all  persons  who  shall  neglect  and  refuse 
to  pay  the  aforesaid  tax  at  the  time  limited  for  the  payment  of  public 
taxes  shall  be  liable  to  the  same  penalties  and  distresses  as  for  the  non- 
payment of  public  taxes,  and  the  collectors  of  said  taxes  are  hereby 
required  and  directed  to  account  for  and  pay  the  money  by  them 
collected,  to  the  commissioners,  aforesaid,  after  deducting  two  and  a 
half  per  cent  for  the  trouble  of  collecting  the  same,  and  in  case  of 
failure  or  neglect  in  any  of  the  said  collectors,  each  collector  so  failing 
or  neglecting,  shall  be  liable  to  the  same  penalties  and  recoveries  as  by 
law  may  be  had  against  collectors  of  public  taxes; 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  all 
manner  of  suits,  causes  and  pleas,  w-hether  civil  or  criminal,  commenced 
or  depending  in  the  said  county  courts  of  Burke  and  Rutherford,  shall 
continue  and  may  be  prosecuted  to  the  final  end  and  determination  in 
the  same  manner  as  if  this  act  had  never  passed; 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid.  That  the 
court  of  the  said  County  of  Buncombe  shall  appoint  five  jurors  to 
attend  at  every  Superior  Court  for  the  district  of  Morgan; 

"x\nd,  whereas,  the  County  of  Burke  appoints  jurors  to  attend  the 
Superior  Court,  and  Rutherford  court  appoints  nine  jurors  to  attend 
the  said  court,  which  in  justice  ought  to  be  altered  agreeably  to  the 
part  taken  off  each  county; 

"Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  the 
County  of-  Burke,  from  and  after  the  passing  of  this  act,  shall  appoint 
twelve  jurors  to  attend  the  Superior  Court,  and  Rutherford  seven  jurors 
to  attend  said  court,  any  law  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

"Be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  the  county 
court  of  Burke  shall  constantly  be  held  on  the  fourth  Mondays  of 
January,  April,  July  and  October; 

"Be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  justices  appointed,  either  in  the 
counties  of  Burke  or  Rutherford,  which  now  reside  in  the  County  of 
Buncombe,  shall  exercise  their  offices  in  the  same  manner  in  the  County 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  197 

of  Buncombe  as  they  could  have  exercised  them  in  the  counties  of 
Burke  and  Rutherford  as  they  stood  undivided. 

"Wm.  Lenoir,  S.  S. 

"S.  Cabarrus,  Sp.  H.  C. 

"Read  three  times  and  ratified  in  General  Assembly  the  14th  day 
of  January,  Anno  Domini  1792." 

(Endorsed  on  back.) 

"An  act  forming  the  western  parts  of  Burke  and  Rutherford 
counties  into  a  separate  and  distinct  county. 

"Examined.  "J.  Graham, 

"D.  Stone." 

Then  came  the  work  of  organization  and  putting  the  machinery 
of  county  government  in  operation,  and  fortunately  we  have  preserved 
the  original  record  now'  before  us  in  the  handwriting  of  Col.  David 
Vance,  the  first  clerk  of  the  court.  The  beauty  of  his  chirography,  the 
order,  neatness  and  accuracies  of  his  entries,  gt^^g  evidence  of  his 
qualifications  for  the  duties  of  his  office.  The  following  extract  from 
the  record  of  that  day's  proceedings  showing  the  first  officers  and  jurors 
for  the  county,  cannot  fail  to  be  deeply  interesting  to  every  one  who 
loves  his  country  or  reveres  his  ancestors. 

"B 

"North  Carolina,  Buncombe  County. 

"April  16th,  A.D.,  1792. 

"Minutes  of  April  Court,  1792. 

"Agreeably  to  a  commission  to  us  directed  the  county  court  of  said 
county  was  begun,  opened  and  held  at  the  house  of  Col.  William 
Davidson,  Esq. 

"Present: — James  Da\qdson,  David  Vance,  William  Whitson, 
William  Davidson,  James  Alexander,  James  Brittain,  Philip  Hooden- 
pile. 

"Took  the  oath  of  office  for  the  qualification  of  public  officers 
and  took  their  seats  as  justices. 

"Silence  being  commanded  and  proclamation  being  made,  the  court 
was  opened  in  due  and  solemn  form  of  law,  by  John  Patton  specially 
appointed  for  that  purpose. 


198  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

"Lambert  Clayton  and  William  Brittain  being  duly  commissioned 
as  justices  of  said  county,  appeared  and  qualified  as  such  by  taking  the 
oaths  for  the  qualification  of  public  officers  and  the  oath  of  offices  as 
justices  of  the  peace  for  said  county  and  took  their  seats. 

"The  court  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  sheriff  for  said  county 
and  did  elect  to  that  office  Joseph  Hughey,  Esq.,  who  was  directed  to 
find  security,  give  bond  and  qualify  tomorrow  at  10  o'clock. 

"The  court  then  proceeded  to  elect  the  clerk  of  said  county,  and 
did  elect  thereto  David  Vance,  Esq.,  who  was  directed  to  give  bond 
with  security  tomorrow  at  10  o'clock. 

"The  court  then  proceeded  to  election  of  entry  officer  of  claims  for 
land  in  said  county,  and  did  elect  thereto  Thomas  Davidson,  Esq. 

"The  court  proceeded  to  elect  a  surveyor,  and  did  elect  to  that 
office  John  Patton,  Esq.,  who  was  directed  to  give  bond  and  security 
tomorrow  at  10  o'clock. 

"The  court  proceeded  to  elect  a  registrar,  and  did  elect  thereto 
John  Davidson  (son  of  James). 

"The  court  then  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  ranger,  and  did  elect 
John  Dillard,  etc.,  etc. 

"The  court  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  coroner,  and  did  elect  to 
that  office  Edmund  Sams,  Esq. 

"Court  adjourned  till  tomorrow  morning  at  10  o'clock. 

"Court  met  according  to  adjournment. 

"Ordered  by  the  court  that  the  following  persons  be  summoned  to 
attend  as  jurors  at  the  succeeding  term,  viz. : 

"1.  George  Baker.  2.  Hickman  Hensley.  3.  Will  Treadway. 
4.  Henry  Atkins.  5.  Thomas  Patton.  6.  Matthew  Patton.  7.  Samuel 
Forgee.  8.  Robert  Patton.  9.  Will  Dever,  Sr.  10.  John  Weaver. 
11.  Will  Gudger.  12.  Benjamin  Hawkins.  13.  William  Greggory. 
14.  Benjamin  Odele,  Sr.  15.  Joshua  English.  16.  Thomas  May. 
17.  James  Stringfield,  Sr.  18.  Nicholas  Woodfin.  —  Benjamin 
Johnson.  19.  Elijah  Williamson.  20.  John  Craig.  21.  James  Wilson. 
22.  John  Ash  worth.  23.  Henry  Deweese.  24.  John  Dillard.  25. 
James  Cravens.    26.  Will  Foster.    27.  Gabriel  Ragsdale.    28.  James 


Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  199 

Clemmons.  29.  Harmon  Reid.  30.  Simon  Kuykendall.  32.  John 
Philips.  c>i.  James  Medlock.  34.  Adam  Dunsmore.  35.  Benjamin 
Yearly.     36.  Daniel  Smith.     37.  Nat  Smith." 

In  these  records  will  be  recognized  many  names  now  borne  by 
their  descendants  v/ho  yet  "dwell  in  the  lands  which  their  fathers  gave 
unto  them.'' 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  the  subsequent  proceedings  of  this  court 
the  rapid  growth  in  the  population  and  development  of  the  country, 
and  the  temptation  to  make  further  extracts  is  very  great,  but  the  pur- 
pose of  this  paper  being  only  to  direct  the  attention  of  my  fellow  citizens 
to  the  principal  historic  facts  connected  with  the  creation  and  organiza- 
tion of  the  now  famous  County  of  Buncombe,  I  shall  leave  its  later 
history  to  more  competent  hands.  Let  me,  however,  give  two  further 
quaint  extracts,  which  may  illustrate  the  simple  and  grave  manners 
of  the  men  and  women  of  those  times : 

"Minutes  of  July  Court,  1792. 

"A  bill  of  divorce  from  Ruth  Edwards  to  her  husband  John 
Edwards  was  proved  in  open  court  by  Philip  Hoodenpile,  Esq.,  a  sub- 
scribing witness  heretofore — ordered  to  be  registered." 

While  this  homely  method  of  untying  the  inconvenient  matri- 
monial knot  does  not  begin  to  compare  with  the  modern  solemn  per- 
formances to  accomplish  the  same  end,  it  has  the  merit  of  being  far 
more  honest  and  direct — and  doubtless  was  as  effectual.  Perhaps  the 
parties,  in  the  absence  of  any  other  known  provisions  of  law  or 
precedents,  recalled  the  old  Misaic  statute,  that  when  a  man  desires  to 
get  rid  of  an  undesirable  wife,  "let  him  write  her  a  bill  of  divorcement, 
and  give  it  in  her  hand  and  send  her  out  of  his  house." 

"Minutes  of  October  Court,  1793. 

"Ordered  by  court  that  Thomas  Hopper,  upon  his  own  motion, 
have  a  certificate  from  the  clerk,  certifying  that  his  right  ear  was  bit 
off  by  Philip  Williams  in  a  fight  between  said  Hooper  and  Williams. 
Certificates  issued." 

When  we  recall  that  in  those  days  and  for  many  years  afterwards 
the  punishment  for  certain  crimes — perjury,  forgery  and  perhaps  some 
others — was  by  cutting  off  a  portion  of  the  ear  of  the  offender,  com- 
monly called  "cropping,"  we  can  well  understand  why  "said  Hopper" 


200  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 

was  so  anxious  that  the  truth  of  his  misfortune  should  be  preserved  in 
some  authentic  way.  Evidently  the  court  being  plain,  sensible  and  just 
men  saw  nothing  unreasonable  in  the  matter  and  gave  a  place  on  the 
records  for  the  fact. 

I  have  looked  in  vain  through  these  records  for  evidence  of  any 
criminal  prosecution  of  the  "said  Hopper  and  Williams,"  for  this  fight, 
but  as  good  old-fashioned  fighting  without  rocks,  knives,  pistols  or 
"brass  knucks"  was  one  of  the  most  common  and  popular  amusements 
of  those  days,  and  there  seems  to  have  been  no  more  serious  injury  than 
the  loss  of  an  ear,  and  doubtless  the  fight  being  a  fair  one,  the  con- 
servators of  the  law  and  order  did  not  feel  called  upon  to  take  official 
notice  of  it.  Nowadays  such  an  occurrence  would  furnish  us  with  a 
sensational  two  days'  trial,  and  fees  galore. 

Perhaps,  possibly  with  the  exception  of  Orange,  Buncombe  has 
exerted  greater  influence  in  the  thought,  history  and  policy  of  the  State 
than  any  other  County.  It  has  furnished  three  governors,  three  United 
States  senators,  one  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  nine  judges 
of  the  Superior  Court,  nine  representatives  in  Congress,  one  president 
of  the  Universit}'  to  the  public  ser\dce.  In  addition,  its  delegations  to 
various  constitutional  conventions  and  representatives  in  our  State 
Legislature  and  Executive  Departments  of  the  State  are  recognized 
among  the  first  in  the  annals  of  our  Government.  In  wealth,  popu- 
lation, enterprise,  especially  in  the  great  movements  of  civic  and 
economic  progress,  it  has  been  in  the  front  rank. 

"The  past,  at  least,  is  secure." 


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